Folk Singer -
Janapada Sri Sukri Kom Bomma Gowda
 She
has thousands of Kannada folk songs in memory to sing
continuously for eight days. She is Sukri Kom Bomma
Gowda of Shirakali village in Ankola taluk of Uttara
Kannada district. Karnataka Janapada Academy, Government
of Karnataka has honoured her with 'Janapada Sri
- 1999.' This award has been conferred on her, considering
her service to the society, folklore and environment conservation
in the tribal area where she lives.
Sukri has also led movements against social evils
like arrack consumption and deforestation
in her region. "Nobody has dared to open an arrack shop
in Badageri Koppa (her tribal area)," she says proudly.
She pleads for amicable settlement of litigation out of
court. She has been imparting ancient folk dance forms:
Taarle, Pagade and Bidarande to the womenfolk of
Badageri area. Though she is a state award receiver, she
still lives in her own native village
. 
She has memorised folk songs that were traditionally handed
down, by word of mouth in the tribal areas of Uttara Kannada
district of Karnataka. She is not just a singer of folk
songs but also a lyricist and an oral historian. Sukri
married an aged man in her 12th year and became a widow
when she was still young. She never remarried though there
is a provision for widow marriages in her Halakki Vokkaliga
community.
Folk songs pertaining to epics, weddings, farming
activities like sowing, harvesting and other folk subjects
can be heard from Sukri who is now 65 years
old. She has entertained audiences by singing at programmes
and meetings all over the state and also for radio and
television.
A gamut
of creative expression 
Mr Suralu Venkatramana Bhat was born into a family
of priests and vedic learning in the year 1957. He hails
from a tiny village known as Suralu in Udupi district.
His innate and inborn interest towards art and culture
resulted in him taking to sculpting as a profession. After
a stint in the Chamarajendra Technical Institute,
Mysore, he was trained under the renowned sculptor, late
D. Vadiraj, who introduced him to sculpting in different
media such as wood, stone and fiberglass.
Currently one of the master sculptors, Bhat's sculpture
covers a wide gamut of creative expressions that include
idols, creatively designed garden lamp shades, exquisite
wall decors, stone murals and many more. Blending the
traditional style of his sculpting innovatively with the
ambiance of the place defines his works. Being able to
sculpt to one's taste and requirement offers a great deal
of flexibility to his creative works.
Recognising his service to this form of art, The Craft
Council of Karnataka conferred upon him the prestigious
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya Vishwa Karma Award in
1987. The municipal corporation of Bangalore city has
honoured him with the 'Kempegowda Award' for the
year 1999.
 His
wife Rathna, is also a good sculptor specialising
in wood carvings. Hailing from a family with no precedence
to sculpting, Mrs Bhat completed her Bachelor's degree
in arts before joining 'Koushalya', a school of
traditional sculpture for formal training in sculpting
skills. She married Mr. Venkatramana Bhat in 1988 and
has since then been very actively involved in sculpting
and assisting him in his creative pursuits. Some of the
important sculptures of Mr. Venkatramana Bhat are a 32-
feet tall stone idol of Palimar Anjaneya, which
is to be installed in Haridwar and a decorative stone
mural of Hoysala for a private collection in Bangalore.
Mr. Bhat says that in this profession it is not necessary
to have concentration or patience, but more importantly,
what a person needs is dedication. However he agrees that
talent and creativity is primary when one is in this line.
He does not believe in mass production of the same sculptures
again and again, but in creating new art forms.
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3:52:42 PM 
