Mumbai, Aug 29: Playback singer Krishna Kalle has been named for the ‘Lata Mangeshkar Award for life Achievement’ instituted by the Maharashtra government.

Besides, the government conjointly declared the ‘Vithabai Narayangaonkar lifetime achievement Award’ to Dhule’s noted ‘tamasha’ performing artist Bhimrao Totaram Gopal, alias Bhibhau Sangvikar.

Both the awards by the state culture department carry a money reward of Rs.5,00,000, a citation, a trophy and a shawl.

Krishna Kalle started her singing career with All India Radio in 1960 and later sang over two hundred movie industry songs, a hundred Mahratti film songs, a hundred bhajans, ghazals and pious songs, in step with a press release.

In 1957, she was honored with national level youth singing awards by India’s 1st president Rajendra Prasad and 1st prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

The following year, she bagged the All India Sugam Sangeet Award 1st prize, K.L. Sehgal Memorial’s Golden Voice Award and many others.

Some other personalities who bagged the ‘Lata Mangeshkar Award for lifetime Achievement’ include: late Manna Dey, Anil Biswas, Sudhir Phadke, Khayyam, Mahendra Kapoor, Suman Kalyanpur, Sulochana Chavan, Kalyanji (Shah), Manik Verma and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Bhibhau Sangvikar has carried forward the tradition of ‘tamasha’ folks dance and music through the Bhikha Bhima Sangvikar Loknatya Tamasha Mandal for the past forty two years.

He conjointly helped construct a school and a temple in his native Shirpur in Dhule district.

Prior to Sangvikar, another recipients of the ‘Vithabai Narayangaonkar lifetime achievement Award’ include: Kantabai Satarkar, Vasant Avsarikar, Sulochana Nalawade, Haribhau Bade, Mangal Bansode and Prabha Shivanekar.