Abu Dhabi: Renowned multilingual singer Anita D’Souza was conferred with the Kalakar Puraskar in a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi. The award, which is instituted by the Mandd Sobhann and Karaval family, was presented to Anita, who hails from Kulur in Mangaluru, in recognition of her contribution to Konkani singing.
The award ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi as Anita resides there and because of the COVID restrictions. The singer was honoured by NRI entrepreneur and Konkani leader Leo Rodrigues with a shawl, memento, fruits, flowers and a Rs 25,000 cash prize.
Konkani cultural leaders such as Valerian D’Almeida, Benett D’ Mello, Franklin D’ Cunha and Sandhya Vas, and Anita’s husband Vivek Serrao and daughter Anwika were also present.
Anitha D’Souza is a highly sought-after singer in India and abroad mainly because of her versatility. She can sing in 12 different languages including Konkani, Kannada, Tulu, Hindi, English, Malayalam, Gujarathi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic and Beary. She has lent her voice to more than 500 devotional and other albums in different languages. Also known for her stage performances, Anitha has shared the stage with many top singers from India and has performed in over 3000 stage shows across the globe.
She has also worked as a playback singer for the movie like “Padri”, “Planning Devachem”, “Nenepirali”, and “Tavarina Siri”. Her two albums “Yaadh” and “Colours” which has songs in different languages have made her a place in the hearts of the people. Anitha been a judge on a number of singing competitions.
Anitha has been recognised and honoured with various titles by many organisations over the course of her career. These include the “Kalathilaka” title by the Kerala State Government, “Tulunada Gana Kogile” title by the Karnataka Beary Academy (2006), and “Vishwa Gadinada Rani Kogile” by the Kannada Sahithya Academy (2011). She even won the Best Singer Award at the Mandd Sobahnn Global Konkani Music Awards in 2014.
Meanwhile, Purna Patholi – three musical programmes with songs written by various poets and lyrics by Eric Ozario were conducted on the occasion of the 226th monthly repertory of the Mandd Sobhann. Jerald D’Mello set the programme, which was telecast live on various TV channels, in motion.
Michael D’Souza read the letter of felicitation, while Goa-based Dr Pratap Naik introduced the awardee.
The programme was compered by Annu Bantwal.
