 Smt P.Susheela was the first recipient of this prestigious honour, which also made Uyarndha Manidhan, the first film to win a National Award under that category.She is fondly called "Gana Kokila" and "Gana Saraswathi".She is also considered as one of the rich voiced singers whose pronunciation of the syllables are to be very clear and precise in any of the languages she sang.