84 artistes conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards
New Delhi (PTI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday presented the one-time Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards to 84 artistes from varied fields of performing arts.
The award was constituted to honour Indian artistes aged above 75 years who have not been accorded any national honour in their career so far.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Dhankhar said this is the first time in the nation's history that these artistes are being recognised for their work.
"All these artistes are those who have never been given their due in the last 75 years. By giving them respect, we give respect to the Indian culture; it increases India's glory in the world," he said.
The vice president added that it is important to help such artistes in a "structured manner" through several schemes launched by the government.
"There are very few countries in the world whose culture is not more than 500-700 years old. But India's culture is 5,000 years old. Hence, eit is important that we appreciate these artistes, take care of them, protect them, nurture them, and help them in a structured manner. I am aware that there are several innovative government schemes under which artistes are receiving help," Dhankar said.
A total of 84 artistes, including 70 men and 14 women, received the award at the ceremony.
The list of awardees include Krishen Langoo (theatre and music) from Jammu and Kashmir, John Claro Fernandes (playwriting) from Goa, Mahabir Nayak (folk music and dance) from Jharkhand and Tsering Stanzin (folk music) from Ladakh.
Three artistes from Andhra Pradesh, two from Arunachal Pradesh and six from Maharashtra also received the prestigious award. Three from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and two each from Punjab and Delhi were also selected.
Four award recipients each are from Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka while five each from Assam and Rajasthan also received the prize.
The awardees received Rs 1 lakh, besides a Tamrapatra' and Angavastram'.
Sandhya Purecha, chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, said that the Akademi is awarding those artistes who have given a lifetime to preserve and protect Indian arts and culture.
"All of you represent the diverse cultural fields and arts of India. All of you are experts in your respective fields and have maintained the continuity of the Indian culture through your practices. You have made an important contribution to keeping the Indian heritage alive. This is a reward for that contribution," Purecha said
The award ceremony was also attended by Minister of State for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi has also organised a four-day festival from September 16 to 20 at the Akademi complex featuring the recipients of the awards.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
