Noted singer Shivamogga Subbanna passes away in Bengaluru

Subbanna was the first Kannadiga to win a National Award for playback singing the song ‘Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta’ in the film Kaadu Kudure.

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Subbanna was the first Kannadiga to win a National Award for playback singing the song ‘Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta’ in the film Kaadu Kudure. (Express Photo)

National award-winning singer Shivamogga Subbanna passed away Thursday night at a hospital in Bengaluru following a heart attack. The 83-year-old is survived by a son and a daughter.

Subbanna was the first Kannadiga to win a National Award for playback singing the song ‘Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta’ in the film Kaadu Kudure. He became a household name in Karnataka after he sang ‘Baarisu Kannada Dindimava’, written by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu.

Known for his work in the field of ‘Sugama Sangeetha’, a genre in which poetry in Kannada is set to music, Subbanna has worked on and sung poetries of famous poets such as Kuvempu and Da Ra Bendre, and got several awards and honours. He was also a singer with Akashvani and Doordarshan and had worked as an advocate.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, noted Suguma Sangeetha singer M D Pallavi said, “It is a very big loss for the world of Sugama Sangeetha. I have performed on many occasions with him on stage and he was a very interactive artiste. He used to explain the poems, the songs, and then sing.”

The state government has announced police honours during his last rites in Bengaluru. Condoling his death, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said it is an irreparable loss to Kannada’s art scene. Former chief minister of Karnataka H D Kumaraswamy also shared his condolences on social media by recalling how Subbanna’s melodious voice added lustre to Sugama Sangeetha.

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