CM Oommen Chandy honours KS Chitra, Grammy award-winning artist Manoj George

Thiruvananthapuram: A small round of applause from the hundreds gathered at the Nishagandhi Auditorium here greeted musician Manoj George when he addressed the Chief Minister, to make a request. “Could the Kerala government organise an award function ‘as grand as Grammy’ for the independent musicians of the state,” he asked.

He said that most artistes tried to make it into cinema, but only a few get lucky. “I am here to talk about the 80 per cent who do not make it. But a lot of them do excellent work of their own, as good as any international artiste. They are not recognised. I wish that the Kerala government would institute a separate award for them, and create a milestone to be followed by other states.”

Manoj, who was part of the Grammy award-winning album ‘Winds of Samsara’, was honored by the Kerala government along with veterans Sreekumaran Thampi and K.S. Chitra, as part of the inaugural function of the week-long Onam celebrations organised by the department of tourism in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sreekumaran Thampi sang two Onam songs including Thuyilunaru, saying that it is perhaps the 200-odd songs he had written about Onam and Kerala that won him the award. Six-time national award-winning singer K.S. Chithra thanked the government for the award.