8 from Karnataka to get Sangeet Natak Akademi awards

Bharatanatyam dancer Vasundhara Doraswamy, Caranatic vocalist RK Padmanabha, and Janapada composer Garthikere Raghanna were among the 8 awardees of the Sangeet Natak Akademi awards from Karnataka announced by the union ministry of culture on Friday.

In all, there were 128 recipients of the awards the Akademi announced for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 in the fields of music, dance, theatre, traditional, folk, tribal music, puppetry and overall contribution to the performing arts. Apart from that, the Akademi announced a one-time Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) commemorating 75 years of India’s independence for 86 artists. The Akademi also announced ten eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows.

From Karnataka, the Ustad Bismillah Khan Youth Award went to B R Arun Kumar (music), Amit A Nadik (flute) and Vasant Kiran (Kucchipuddi).

While the Fellows will be given Rs 3 lakh, the awarded will be given Rs 1 lakh, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards will be conferred by the President of India.

The awardees from Karnataka for 2019 include Vinayak Torvi (Hindustani Vocal) and Manju Bhargavi (Kuchipuddi). The 2020 awardees from the state include H G Lakshmidevamma (Folk) and Arathi Angkalikar (Hindustani music). Awardees for 2021 include Ravindra Yavagal (Tabla), H R Lilawathi (Sugam Sangeet), Garthikere Raghanna (janapada) and D Balakrishna (veena).

The one-time award was bagged by Gauri Kuppuswamy (Carnatic Music), Anusuya Kulkarni, Lalita Srinivasan (Bharatanatyam), AS Jayatheertha (Theatre) and Marappa Das (folk).

“The eminent artists cover the entire gamut of the performing arts such as vocal music, both Hindustani and Carnatic; instrumental music, both Hindustani and Carnatic including flute, sitar and mridangam; sugam sangeet as well as harikatha; the major forms of Indian dance such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Sattriya, Mohiniattam as well as contemporary dance; the different specializations of theatre such as playwriting, direction, acting, make-up, lighting, stage design; major traditions of theatre like Isai Natakam; the folk and tribal arts as well as the arts of puppetry and instrument making,” a release by the ministry said.

Apart from that musician Bickram Ghosh and spiritual singer Anup Jalota won the award for 2020, while Carnatic vocalists Charumathi Ramachandran and Pala C K Ramachandran won the award in 2019.