Recognising sustained individual work, contribution

India is a country that is so rich in its tradition and heritage that the world considers us as the cultural dharohar (legacy) of art in the world. There are numerous awards to recognise artistes here. The ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) Awards’ is the ultimate recognition for an artist in India.

Beginning October the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee gave away the prestigious SNA award for 2015 to various artists for `3 lakh and Akademi Award carries `1 lakh besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

‘The journey of the SNA award ceremony goes back to 1950s when it was introduced to honour the artistes of excellence in their field. SNA being the highest apex body, initiated the SNA Awards, not only to preserve the dying art forms but propagated it as an instrument in popularising different art forms,” said Shir Shekhar Sen, chairman, SNA.

Some first awardees of this esteemed award were names that today’s artist literally worship: T. Balasaraswati (1955) and Mylapore Devi Arundale (1959) for Bharatnatyam; Shambhu Maharaj (1955) and Baijnath Prasad "Lacchu Maharj"(1957) , Sunder Prasad (1959), Birju Maharaj (1964) and Sitara Devi (1969) for Kathak; P.K. Kunju Kurup (1956) and Thotton K. Chandu Panikkar (1958) for Kathakali; Amubi Singh (1956) and Haobam Atomba (1958) for Manipuri; Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma Satyam (1961) and Chinta Krishnamurthy (1968) for Kuchipudi; Kelucharan Mohapatra (1966) for Odissi; Manira and Datta Moktar (1963) for Sattrriya, T. Chinnammu Amma (1972) for Mohiniattam; Suddhendra Narayan Singh Deo (1963) for Chhau; Uday Shankar (1960) and Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (1970) for creative and experimental dance.

These are just a few of the dancing legends who have been given the SNA award and the traditions still goes on.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi was established by the then Ministry of Education, Government of India by a Resolution dated the 31st of May, 1952 as the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, and was inaugurated by the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad on the Januar 28,, 1953. It was created as the apex body in the country for carrying out the task of preservation and promotion of the performing arts of India.

One of the important activities of the Akademi has been to give recognition and honours to artists as it would help in setting standards in these arts, and restore the art and artistes to their rightful place in Independent India.

The institution of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards is now more than 50 years old and the large body of practitioners, gurus and scholars in the performing arts honoured by the Akademi represent the nation’s highest achievers in music, dance and drama.

The Awards in Hindustani and Carnatic music were instituted as early as 1951, even before the Akademi was set up and these were known as Presidential Awards. With the formation of the Akademi, the Awards came to be known as Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards, and the investiture became the responsibility of the Akademi. The Presidential Awards for 1952 and 1953 were subsequently incorporated in the list of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.

The Akademi’s charter of functions was expanded along the original lines in 1961, when the SNA was reconstituted by the government. The Akademi establishes and looks after institutions and projects of national importance in the field of the performing arts. The National School of Drama, set up in 1959, was the first of their two national institutions of dance — Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy in Imphal and Kathak Kendra (National Institute of Kathak Dance) in New Delhi were set up in 1964, respectively. National Projects of Support to Koodiyattam — the age-old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala — Chhau dances of eastern India and Sattriya traditions of Assam have been launched subsequently. After 10 years of intensive work under the Koodiyattam project, the UNESCO declared Koodiyattam as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in May 2001. It organises performances of music, dance, and theatre.

When the SNA was inaugurated, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Union Minister for Education said, “India’s precious heritage of music, drama and dance is one which we must cherish and develop. We must do so not only for our own sake but also as our contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. No where is it truer than in the field of art then to sustain means to create. In a democratic regime, the arts can derive their sustenance only from the people, and the state, as the organised manifestation of the people’s will, must, therefore, undertake maintenance and development of arts as one of its first responsibilities”

The SNA award is one which all artistes dream of receiving as it would be the biggest achievement for them.

Through this article I would like to congratulate all the awardees whose dreams have come true. I would also like to extend my best wishes to Shekhar Sen and his team for giving artistes an ultimate platform and recognising the talent that we all work for all our lives.

Sandip Soparrkar is a choreographer who has been honoured with the National Achievement Award and National Excellence Award by the Govt of India. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com