Nataka Academy award ceremony tomorrow

The Karnataka Nataka Academy awards, for the year 2018-19, will be distributed during a programme to be held at Town Hall in Udupi on February 12 at 4.30 pm.

Briefing reporters here, Academy President J Lokesh said that writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa will inaugurate the programme. Director M S Satyu will give away the awards. Kannada and Culture department former director N R Vishukumar will preside over the programme, he said.

“P Gangadhar Swamy has been selected for Academy Honorary Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000.”

The annual awards will be presented to Rajappa Kiragooru, Basappa Sharanappa Madari, Huliwana Gangadharayya, Hanumanthappa Bagalkote, Anjinappa, Savithri Narayanappa Gowdara, Jakavulla Gandasi, Khajesaba Nabeesaba Jangi, Mime Ramesh, Kenche Gowda, Prabhakar Kalyani, Chindodi L Chandradhara, D M Rajkumar, D L Nanjundaswamy, Ishwara Dala, Mohan Marnadu, Usha Bhandary, Prabhakar Joshi, S Anjinamma, Dr K Y Narayanaswamy, Jagadish Kenganal, Ugama Srinivas, Vijayananda Karadigudda, Makaboola Hunasikatti and M Ravi. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each.

Lokesh said Mrityunjayaswamy Hiremata, Nicolas and Malavada N L Nagaraj have been selected for ‘Dattinidhi Prashasti.’ Books ‘Udupi Jilla Ranga Mahithi’ by Padma Kodagu, ‘Avibhajitha Dharwad Jilla Ranga Mahithi’ by Basavaraj Bengeri, and ‘Rahimanavva Kalmani’ by Ganesh Amingad will be released on the occasion.

Lokesh said that Rs 1 crore grant given to the Nataka Academy was not sufficient. Of the Rs 1 crore, Rs 35 lakh is spent on the salary of the staff. The remaining Rs 65 lakh has to be used for the theatre activities. The government should increase the annual grant for the Nataka Academy, he added.