called Chithra Pournami was held on 15 February 2011 at Thiruvananthapuram to celebrate the 30th year of her career and also to launch this organisation. Awards, honors, and recognition Chithra is a recipient of six National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards South and 36 different state film awards. She has won film awards from all the four south Indian states. She was awarded India's third highest civilian honor Padma Bhushan in 2021 and Padma Shri in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity. In 2019, she was honoured by Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, sovereign ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah and a member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, for successfully completing 40 years in Indian film industry. She was honoured with the Rashtrapati Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 20 January 2018. She received the MTV Video Music Award – International Viewer's Choice at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York in 2001. She received honorary doctorates from Sathyabama University in 2011 and from The International Tamil University, United States in 2018. She is the only South Indian female singer who has presented her maiden concert at the world's prestigious concert hall Royal Albert Hall in London in 2001. Her song "Kannalane/Kehna Hi Kya" from the film Bombay (1995) was included in The Guardian "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear Before You Die" list. Personal life Chithra is married to Vijayashankar, an engineer and businessman. They had a daughter Nandana, who was born with Down's syndrome. Her daughter drowned in a pool in Dubai in 2011 when Chithra was about to perform at an A. R. Rahman concert. References External links 1963 births Living people Assamese playback singers Singers from Kerala Bollywood playback singers 20th-century Indian singers Indian women playback singers Indian women classical singers Kannada playback singers Kerala State Film Award winners Tamil playback singers Malayalam playback singers Singers from Thiruvananthapuram Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Telugu playback singers Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Nandi Award winners Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Film musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Kerala Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Sanskrit-language singers