Avasarala Kanyakumari is a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist from

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

who specializes in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

Career

Kanyakumari is a native of Vijayanagaram,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and has lived in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

for more than five decades.

Awards and honours

A Kanyakumari was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award of the

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

for the year 2016. She is the first female violinist to get the award. Other awards include *''

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

'' by Government of India (2015) *Sangita Kalanidhi from the Music Academy, Chennai (2016) *''Kalaimamani'' from Govt. of Tamil Nadu *''Ugadi Puraskar'' from Govt. of Andhra Pradesh *''Top Rank'' by A.I.R *''Honorary citizenship'' of the state of Maryland, U.S *''TTK Award'' from the Music Academy, Chennai *''Asthana Viidushi'' of Sringeri Sarada Peetam, Ahobila Mutt and Avadhoota Peetam *''"Saptagiri sangeetha vidwanmani'' from Sri Tyagaraja Festival Committee of Tirupathi. *''Dhanurveena Praveena'', a title bestowed on her by

M.S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian ...

, commemorating Kanyakumari's 25 years in concerts *''Sangeeta Kala Nipuna'', from the Mylapore Fine Arts Club, 2002 Awardees at Madras music mela 2002
/ref> * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2003 * Sangeetha Chudamani Award from Krishna Gana Sabha, 2012 She was selected for Limca Book of Records 2004 for her various achievements in music as a versatile woman violinist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanyakumari, A. Carnatic violinists Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts People from Tamil Nadu People from Vizianagaram 21st-century violinists Year of birth missing (living people)