Six eminent personalities in field of performing arts elected as Akademi Fellows

New Delhi [India], February 28 : The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy of music, dance and drama has unanimously elected six eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna).
The Fellowship of the Akademi is a prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 at any given time.
These personalities are Vinayak Khedekar, R. Visweswaran, Sunayana Hazarilal, Kuchipudi dancers Raja and Radha Reddy, Dulal Roy and D.P. Sinha.
The General Council also selected 92 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 Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2022 and 2023.
The fellows and awardees so selected represent the nation as a whole and belong to different States and Union Territories. Besides, these eminent artists cover the entire gamut of performing arts forms expressed in the form of music, dance, drama, folk & tribal art, puppetry and allied theatre art forms etc.
The General Council of the Akademi has also selected 80 young artists for Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2022 and 2023. The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries purse money of Rs 25,000 besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. These awards will be conferred by the Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi in a special ceremony.
The Akademi Awards have been conferred since 1952. These honours not only symbolize the highest standard of excellence and achievement but also recognize sustained individual work and contribution. The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs 3 lakhs while the Akademi Award carries a purse money of Rs 1 lakhs, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards will be conferred by the Hon'ble President of India in a special investiture ceremony.