Sonam Tshering Lepcha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 January 1928 Kalimpong,West Bengal, India |
| Died | 30 July 2020 (aged 92) |
| Occupation(s) | Folk musician Lyricist |
| Known for | Lepcha folk songs |
| Parent | Nimgay Tamsang |
| Awards | Padma Shri Sangeet Natak Akademi Award SNA Tagore Akademi Ratna Award |
Sonam Tshering Lepcha (3 January 1928 – 30 July 2020) was an Indian folk musician, composer and lyricist.[1] He was the first amongLepcha people to air his voice onAll India Radio and was credited with the revival of Lepcha culture, one of the indigenous cultures of the Indian state ofSikkim.[1] He was reported to be credited with over 400 folk songs, 102 folk dances and 10 dance dramas.[2] He died on 30 July, 2020 due tocardiac arrest.[3][4][5]
Sonam Tshering was born on 3 January 1928 in Bong Busty,Kalimpong,West Bengal, and started his career as a soldier.[6]
Lepcha travelled inSikkim, collecting traditional musical instruments and compiling songs and became the first Lepcha to feature onAll India Radio in 1960. He is the founder of a museum in Kalimpong which houses several ancient and rare artifacts including indigenous musical instruments, ancient weapons and manuscripts.[1] He received theSangeet Natak Akademi Award of theSangeet Natak Akademi in 1995.[7] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of thePadma Shri, in 2007, for contributions to folk music.[8] In 2011, in connection with the 150th Birthday celebrations ofRabindranath Tagore,Sangeet Natak Akademi selected 100 eminent performing artists of the country and Tshering Lepcha was included in the list of 50 for theTagore Akademi Ratna Award.[9]
