The Sangeet Natak Akademi disclosed on Wednesday the identities of those set to receive the esteemed Akademi Fellow and Akademi Puraskar accolades for the years 2022 and 2023.
Among the distinguished honorees are thespians Rajeev Verma, Ashok Saraf, and vocalist Bombay Jayashri. The Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama, handpicks eminent figures from the performing arts domain for acknowledgment as Akademi Fellows.
The recently elected Fellows encompass R Visweswaran, a proficient veena maestro, Sunayana Hazarilal, an accomplished Kathak exponent, and the acclaimed Kuchipudi pair Raja and Radha Reddy.
Prominent figures in the realm, such as Vinayak Khedekar, a folklorist and wordsmith, Dulal Roy, a maestro of thespian arts, and DP Sinha, a dramatist, have also attained the esteemed status of Akademi Fellows.
The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, in a proclamation, underscored the Akademi Fellowship’s magnitude as a distinguished and rare accolade, reserved for an exclusive cohort of 40 individuals at any given period.
In conjunction with the Fellows, 92 remarkable artisans specializing in diverse genres of melody, choreography, drama, and customary arts have been singled out for the Akademi Puraskar awards.
These adept artisans epitomize an eclectic array of performing arts, spanning Hindustani and Carnatic vocal and instrumental music, classical dance genres such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Odissi, along with avant-garde dance stylings.
The accolades, accompanied by monetary rewards and ceremonial mementos, will be bestowed in a special convocation presided over by President Draupadi Murmu and the chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi.
This ceremony will also pay homage to 80 budding artists through the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awards, extolling their contributions to the performing arts, coupled with substantial monetary rewards and acknowledgment.
These awards underscore the Akademi’s dedication to fostering talent and championing eminence in the sphere of performing arts.