New Delhi, 13 August (H.S.): President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2024 and 2025 on more than 100 eminent artists. On the occasion, she said artists are not only custodians of India’s traditions but also guardians of its collective memory and creators of its vision for the future.
Seven distinguished artists — Ramlal Bareth, A. V. Anand, Rita Ganguly, Puru Dadheech, Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Pasumarthy Ratthiah Sharma and Sudharani Raghupathy — were conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
For 2024, 54 artists from various disciplines, including music, dance, theatre, folk and tribal arts, were honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. The awardees included flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, actor Arun Nalawade and folk dancer Gulabo Sapera, among others.
Another 54 artists from different artistic traditions were honoured with the Akademi Awards for 2025. The recipients included Bharatanatyam exponent Roja Kannan, Kathak artist Krishna Mohan Mishra Maharaj, theatre director Kapildev Chandrakant Shukla and folk musician Bheru Singh Chauhan, among others.
Addressing the gathering, President Murmu said the artists being honoured collectively represent India’s vast cultural landscape. She said this cultural map is woven from stories and songs rooted in the soil of the country, its diverse dances and festivals, and the memories preserved through languages and dialects that have evolved over centuries.
She highlighted the richness of India’s musical traditions, diverse dance forms and numerous forms of folk theatre. According to the President, Indian culture has deep roots in nature. The influence of nature can be seen in the country’s diverse culinary traditions, clothing, dance and music. Artists draw inspiration from the sounds of birds, flowing streams, trees and plants, clouds and rivers, transforming these experiences into artistic expression. She said the relationship between diversity and unity is among the greatest strengths of Indian art.
President Murmu underlined the crucial role of the guru-shishya tradition in preserving and nurturing India’s diverse art forms. She observed that, in the world of art, a guru is like the most important book. At a time of rapid change, several folk-art traditions face the threat of extinction. She stressed the need for focused efforts not only to document these traditions but also to ensure that they remain living and vibrant practices.
The President appreciated the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s ‘Kala-Deeksha’ initiative undertaken towards this objective and called upon senior artists to make systematic efforts to train and mentor the next generation.
She said nature is the most natural training ground for enriching human life through the values and sensibilities embodied in art. Folk and tribal art forms reflect an innate zest for life and a profound connection with nature. They also provide an organic expression of community memory and collective consciousness. For this reason, she said, folk arts constitute an important pillar of India’s cultural identity.
President Murmu congratulated all the recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards. She said that, as carriers of India’s traditions, these artists serve as custodians of the nation’s collective memory while also shaping its vision for the future.
The President described the Sangeet Natak Akademi as an important centre of India’s soft power and expressed confidence that the Akademi would continue to enrich the world with India’s cultural vitality in the years ahead.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
