Sukri Bommagowda

Sukri Bommagowda (1937 – 13 February 2025) was an Indian folk singer belonging to the Halakki Vokkaliga tribe in Ankola, Karnataka, India. She received several awards, including the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honours, for her contributions to the arts, and her work in preserving traditional tribal music.

Background Bommagowda was born into the Halakki Vokkaliga tribe, in Badigeri, in Uttara Kannada, and was married at the age of 16. She and her husband had two children, and adopted another child.

Bommagowda died on 13 February 2025 at a hospital in Manipal, Karnataka, where she had been undergoing treatment. She was 88.

Career Bommagowda was taught to sing as a child by her mother and worked to preserve the traditional music and songs of the Halakki Vokkaliga tribe. She taught traditional music and songs to members of her tribe. Bommagowda was publicly recognised for her work in preserving a large corpus of tribal songs as part of an oral tradition. All India Radio, India's national broadcast radio, and the Karnataka Janapada Academy worked with Bommagowda to record, translate, and preserve these songs. 2006 Nadoja Award (granted by the Kannada University) 2017 Padma Shri Award In popular culture Bommagowda is featured in a Karnataka middle school textbook, in relation to her contributions to music.