Sangeet Natak Akademi award for Vyjayanthi

Other winners of the Sangeet Natak Akademi awards include mandolin player U Srinivas, Kathak dancer Prerana Shirmali, creative dancer Daksha Sheth, theatre directors Dinesh Thakur and Joy Michael and mime exponent Moinul Haque.

Announcing the awards,  Sangeet Natak Akademi Award  secretary Jayant Kastuar said the Akademi Ratna, as the Natak Akademi Award Fellowship is known, was the most prestigious honour bestowed by the government in the field of performing arts.
Presently there are only 32 Fellows of the Akademi.

Category

The general council of  Sangeet Natak Akademi Award selected 33 people from the fields of music, dance and theatre for the  Natak Akademi awards, Jayant Kastuar said.  The Akademi Fellows would get Rs 3 lakh each while the Akademi awardees would get Rs one lakh each, along with Tamrapatras and Angavastrams.

And the honour goes to...

MUSIC

* Abdul Rashid Khan, Vasundhara Komkali — Hindustani vocal

* Lachman Singh Seen—Tabla

* Ali Ahmad Hussain—Shehnai for Hindustani instrumental

* Parassala B Ponnammal—Carnatic vocal
* Dandamudi Sumathi Rama Mohan Rao—Mridangam for Carnatic instrumental
* L Ibohalmacha Singh—Nata Sankirtana for other major traditions of music

DANCE

* Ananda Shankar Jayant—Bharatanatyam,

* Kalamandalam Rajan—Kathakali,

* L Bino Devi—Manipuri, Geeta Mahalik—Odissi

* Kala Krishna—Andhranatyam

THEATRE

* Shankar Narayan Navre—Marathi

* Vayala Vasudevan Pillai--Malayalam for playwriting

* Sudha Shivpuri, Neeta Mohindra—Acting

* Kamal Arora—Make-up

* Kuldeep Singh—Music

OTHER TRADITIONAL/FOLK/ TRIBAL MUSIC/ DANCE/ THEATRE

* Musafir Ram Bhardwaj—Folk dance, Himachal Pradesh

* Vilayat Khan Ragi—Dhadhi folk music, Punjab

* U K Kunjirama Panicker—Theyyam, Kerala,

* Jaganath Behera—Pala, Orissa

* Shanti Jain—Folk music, Bihar

* Vithal Gangaram Umap—Folk theatre, Maharashtra

* Bhikhudan Govindbhai Gadhvi—Folk music, Gujarat

* Leela Venkataraman-- for overall contribution to performing arts.