128 artists to receive Sangeet Natak Akademi awards for 2019, 2020, 2021

The Sangeet Natak Akademi on Friday announced the list of 10 Akademi fellows and 128 artists who will receive the prestigious Akademi Puraskar for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama elects eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows.

The fellows are: Bharatnatyam dancer Saroja Vaidyanathan, Kathakali exponent Sadanam Krishnan Kutty, Manipuri dancer Darshana Jhaveri, classical vocalist Chhannu Lal Mishra, Carnatic clarinet player AKC Natarajan, tabla player Swapan Chaudhuri, classical singer Malini Rajurkar, Carnatic and Hindustani musician TV Gopalakrishnan, folk singer Teejan Bai, and musicologist Bharat Gupt.

"The fellowship of the Akademi is the most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 at any given time. With the election of ten fellows, there are presently 39 fellows of Sangeet Natak Akademi," it said in a statement.

The general council of Sangeet Natak Akademi also selected 128 artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the performing arts for the Akademi Puraskar for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The 128 artists include three joint awards.

The eminent artists cover the entire gamut of the performing arts such as Hindustani and Carnatic vocal music, Hindustani and Carnatic instrumental music, 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.

Artists with different specialisations of theatre such as playwriting, direction, acting, make-up, lighting and stage design as well as other major traditions of theatre like Isai Natakam have been selected.

Practitioners of folk and tribal arts and the arts of puppetry and instrument making have also made it to the list of awardees.

The award of Akademi fellow carries a prize money of Rs three lakh while the Akademi award carries a prize money of Rs one lakh, besides a 'tamrapatra' and 'angavastram'.

The awards will be conferred by President Draupadi Murmu in a special investiture ceremony.