Folk arts expert elated over Padma honours

The first folk artist from Tamil Nadu to receive a PhD for her scholarly work in the field,  Vijayalakshmi retired as a professor from the department of folk arts at the Madurai Kamaraj University.

Speaking to DTNext, the 71-year-old said she was extremely happy at the national recognition for her contributions that though the award arrived a little late. 

The Padma award, she added, was a recognition not just to her talent but also for the folk arts that she had been working on for close to four decades. 

Her husband, Navaneethakrishnan, too, was a professor in the same department in Madurai Kamaraj University. 

The couple were instrumental in taking folk songs as an art form to the masses, and were the first folk artists hailing from the state to perform in countries abroad, giving the world a taste of the beauty of folk arts of Tamil Nadu. Together, they have recorded more than 10,000 cassettes in their careers spanning several decades. 

Even after retirement, Vijayalakshmi, along with her husband, have continued their work in the field. At present, they are involved in creating an encyclopaedia on Tamil folk art.