President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the years 2022 and 2023 to eminent artists in the field of performing arts, including music, dance, drama, folk and tribal arts.

Besides the Akademi Awards, the President of India also bestowed the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship to 6 eminent artists.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship or “Akademi Ratna” is the highest honour given to eminent artists in the field of performing arts for his or her exceptional contribution to performing art form. It is restricted to 40 at any given time.

On Wednesday, folklorist from Goa Vinayak Khedekar, Veena virutoso from Karnataka R. Visweswaran, Kathak exponent Sunayana Hazarilal, famous Kuchipudi dancers Raja and Radha Reddy, theatre artists Dulal Roy and D.P. Sinha were bestowed with Akademi fellowships.

Twelve people from the field of music, and equal number from dance, 9 from the field of theatre and 11 from folk and tribal arts have received the Akademi awards for 2023.

Some notable artists include Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri Ramnath from Tamil Nadu, Neyveli Narayanan from Tamil Nadu for Carnatic Instrumental (Mridangam), Urmila Sathyanarayanan, from Tamil Nadu for Bharatanatyam and Pallavi Krishnan from Kerala for Mohiniattam.

The Akademi Awards have been conferred since 1952.

While the honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of ₹3,00,000, the Akademi Award carries a purse money of ₹1,00,000.

While giving away the awards, the President said that art is not just for the sake of art, it also has social purpose.

There are many such examples in history, when artists used their art for social welfare. Artists have been contributing to awakening of society through their creations. Indian art is the best example of India’s soft-power, she added.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)