Process on for finding new chair of Sangeet Natak Akademi: Min

Days after noted Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson quit as the chairperson of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Ministry of Culture said it has begun the process of identifying a new chief for the prestigious institution.
Minister of State for Culture, Shripad Yesso Naik, told PTI here today that a new chairperson would be soon appointed to head the Akademi.
"The process has already started," Naik said in his reply to a query as to when the vacant posts of the chairperson and other general council members would be filled. He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a national portal for museums here.

Samson had resigned as the chair of the Akademi on Sept. 5. Her resignation was accepted by the government on Oct. 10.
The previous UPA government had appointed Samson as the chairperson of the Akademi in August 2010 for a period of five years. Her term was supposed to end in 2015.
The term of the general council members of the Akademi had ended in July.

Samson was the 12th chairperson of the Akademi, which is the apex government body for performing arts in the country.
In a related development, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami has been pointed as the new chairman of the Chennai-based Kalakshetra Foundation, said Culture Secretary Ravindra Singh. The foundation functions under the Ministry of Culture.

The former chief of the poll body succeeds ex-West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi to the post after the latter resigned from the chairmanship of the foundation this year.