The Sangeet Natak Akademi on Wednesday announced the list of six Akademi Fellows and 92 artists, including actors Ashok Saraf, Rajeev Verma and singer Bombay Jayashri, who will receive the prestigious award for the years 2022 and 2023.
The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama elects eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows.
The Fellows are folklorist and author Vinayak Khedekar, veena player R Visweswaran, Kathak dancer Sunayana Hazarilal, Kuchipudi dancing couple Raja and Radha Reddy, theatre director Dulal Roy, and playwright DP Sinha.
"The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, at its meeting held on 21 and 22 February 2024 at New Delhi unanimously elected six eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The Fellowship of the Akademi is a most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 at any given time," it said in a statement.
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The Akademi also selected 92 artists from the field of music, dance, theatre, traditional/folk/tribal music/dance/ theatre, puppetry and overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts for the Akademi Puraskar for the years 2022 and 2023.
The eminent artists cover the entire gamut of the performing arts such as Hindustani and Carnatic vocal music, Hindustani and Carnatic instrumental music, and Sugam Sangeet; the major forms of Indian dance such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Chhau, Odissi, Sattriya, Mohiniattam as well as contemporary dance.
Artists with different specialisations of theatre such as playwriting, direction, acting, make-up, and lighting as well as other major traditions of theatre like Ramleela, Ankiya Bhaona and Kutiyattam have been selected.
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The award of Akademi Fellow carries a prize money of Rs 3 lakh, while the Akademi award carries a prize money of Rs 1 lakh, besides a ‘tamrapatra’ and ‘angavastram’.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards will be conferred by President Draupadi Murmu in a special investiture ceremony at a later date.
The Akademi also announced the names of 80 young artists for Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2022 and 2023.
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a prize money of Rs 25,000, besides a 'tamrapatra' and 'angavastram'.
The yuva puraskar will be given by the chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi in a special ceremony.
