Sangeet Natak Akademi elects seven artistes as Fellows
The Sangeet Natak Akademi has elected seven eminent artistes, including Kathak dancer Ramlal Bareth and vocalist-dancer Rita Ganguly, as Akademi Fellows, its highest honour.
New Delhi: The Sangeet Natak Akademi on Wednesday elected seven artistes in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows, including Kathak dancer Ramlal Bareth and vocalist-dancer Rita Ganguly.
It also announced the names of 108 artistes from the fields of music, dance, theatre, traditional/folk/tribal/music/dance/theatre/puppetry, and overall contribution/scholarship and others in the performing arts for the Akademi Awards for 2024 and 2025, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama said in a statement.
Apart from Bareth and Ganguly, the Akademi elected Carnatic musician A V Anand, Kathak dancer Puru Dadheech, vocalist Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Kuchipudi dancer Pasumarthi Rattaiah Sarma, and Bharatanatyam dancer Sudharani Raghupathy as Akademi Fellows.
The fellowship, the most prestigious and rare honour of the Akademi, is restricted to 40 at any given time.
“The Fellows and Awardees so selected represent the nation as a whole, and belong to different States and Union Territories of India. Besides, these eminent artists cover the entire gamut of the performing art forms expressed in the form of music, dance, drama, folk & tribal art, puppetry, and allied theatre art forms, etc,” the statement said.
Some of the artistes picked for the Akademi Award for 2024 include flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, singer Nirmalya Dey, choreographer Shashidharan Nair, Odissi dancer Bichitrananda Swain, actor Vaagai Chandrasekar, folk dancer Gulabo Sapera, and Mohiniyattam dancer Sunanda Nair.
Some of the artistes who will receive the award for 2025 include vocalist Suresh Gandharv, shehnai player Shailesh Bhagwat, Kathakali dancer Kalamandalam Krishnakumar, Sattriya dancer Mallika Kandali, theatre director Kallol Bhattacharya, theatre director Subodh Patnaik, shadow puppeteer Sindhe Chithambara Rao, and art critic Manjari Sinha.
The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs 3 lakh, while the Akademi Award carries a purse money of Rs 1 lakh, besides a ‘tamrapatra’ (copper sheet) and ‘angavastram’ (stole).
The Akademi Fellowship and Awards will be conferred by the President at a special investiture ceremony.
The general council of the Akademi also selected 106 young artists for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 and 2025.
The Yuva Puraskar carries a prize money of Rs 25,000, a ‘tamrapatra’ and an ‘angavastram’. These awards will be conferred by the chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi at a special ceremony.
