Sangeet Akademi Awards presentation today

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 14 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will confer the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2008 at a special ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan today.
The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) are recognized as the highest national honour conferred on practicing artists, gurus and scholars and have come to stay as the most coveted honour, which the artistes aspire to.

This year, the most coveted honour of Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) will be conferred on eminent personalities in the field of performing arts namely Sitara Devi, eminent Kathak exponent from Mumbai, Khaled Chowdhury, eminent stage designer from Kolkata, R.C. Mehta, eminent scholar of performing arts from Vadodara and Bhupen Hazarika, eminent personality in the field of performing arts and noted folk musician from Guwahati.

The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna Sadyasta) carries a purse of Rs 1, 00,000/-, besides a citation, an angavastram and a tamrapatra.

The Akademi Fellowship is restricted to 30 living persons at any given point of time.

The General Council of the Akademi also selected 34 practitioners of music, dance and theatre for 33 awards including one joint award for the Akademi Puraskar (Akademi Award) for the year 2008.

The Akademi Award carries a purse money of Rs 50,000/-, citation, angavastram and tamrpatra.

In the field of music, eight eminent artists namely Ulhas Kashalkar and M.R. Gautam for Hindustani Vocal Music; Ramesh Mishra (Sarangi) and Krishna Ram Chaudhary (Shehnai) for Hindustani Instrumental Music; Puranam Purushottama Sastri for Carnatic Vocal; B. Sasi Kumar (Violin) and Manrgudi A. Easwaran (Mridangam) for Carnatic Instrumental Music and Ningombam Ibobi Singh (Nata Sankirtana, Manipur) for Other Major Traditions of Music have been selected.

In the field of dance, nine eminent practioners namely Saroja Vaidyanathan, Bharatanatyam; Shashi Shankhla, Kathak; Kalamandalam Kuttan, Kathakali; Ramani Ranjan Jena, Odissi; M. Vasanthalakshmi and M.V. Narasimhachari (Joint Award), Kuchipudi; Kalamandalam Leelamma, Mohiniattam; Yogsunder Desai, Creative and Experimental Dance and Ramhari Das, Music for Dance (Odissi) have been selected.

In the field of theatre, eight eminent persons namely Markand Bhatt and Arundhati Nag for Acting, S. Ramanujam and Probir Guha for Direction, Mudra Rakshasa (Hindi) and Narsingh Dev.

Jamwal (Dogri) for Playwriting, Amba Sanyal for Allied Theatre Arts (Costume Designing) and Bansi Lal Khilari (Khayal, Rajasthan) for Major Traditions of Theatre have been selected.

For their contribution to other traditional/folk/ tribal music/ dance/ theatre, Shakuntala Nagarkar, Lavani (Maharastra); Birabar Sahoo, Gotipua (Orissa); Mangi Bai Arya, Mand (Rajasthan); L. Heramot Meitei, Thang-Ta (Martial Art, Manipur); Lakha Khan Mangniyar, Folk Music (Rajasthan); Hilda Mit Lepcha, Lepcha Music (Sikkim); Kartar Singh, Gurbani (Punjab) and Lakshman Das, Hari Katha (Karnataka) have been selected.

R. Satyanarayana of Kartanaka has been selected his Scholarship in Performing Arts. (ANI)

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Girl Bonding Kangana –Priyanka Are Collaborators On Stage…

April 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Girl Bonding Kangana –Priyanka Are Collaborators On Stage… For her show on 5 April for Femina Kangana will be paying a tribute to two screen queens Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

And when she got to know that Priyanka Chopra too will be performing Kangana gladly gave over the Fashion songs to her colleague and friend.

Says Kangana, “When I got to know that Priyanka is performing I asked her about her songs. When she said she was doing the Fashion songs I happily decided to do the tribute to Aishwarya and Madhuri. I’ll be dancing to tracks like Madhuri’s Mera piya ghar aaya and Aishwarya’s Nimbooda. This gives me a chance to try out my Kathak which I’ve been learning for three years.”

So much for the belief that two actresses can never get along together. Ironically Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra couldn’t agree over the allotting of songs from Dostana during the Filmfare awards.

Priyanka had ultimately opted out.

Says Kangana, “I think girl bonding is very cool. I can’t say Priyanka and I best friends. I think two actresses fighting is very unfashionable. After Fashion there’s a comfort level. And if we can share a platform without getting in one another’s way then isn’t that just great?”

Non-stop dancing for two back-to-back shows has taken its toll on Kangana Ranaut’s legs.

On Friday when she was scheduled to perform for an FM channel(98.5) Kangana’s legs could barely move.

Wincing in pain Kangana recounted her horror.”On Thursday I kept rehearsing non-stop for two shows for six hours. I never realized what I was putting myself through until the next morning when I woke up with swollen legs.”

Kangana somehow managed to drag herself to the show where she danced to her Fashion tracks.

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Tripura launches Kathak Yatra to revive classical dance form

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Agartala, March 12 (ANI): Tripura is making an endeavor to revive Indian classical dance through various festivals in a big way.

Recently, a three-day classical dance festival “Kathak Yatra” was organised at Nazrul Kalakhetra in Agartala. It witnessed enthusiast participation of local artistes from the region.

‘Kathak Yatra’ turned out to be a great entertainment and visual treat for classical dance lovers in the State. It featured Kathak artists from the region and across the country who depicted gods in various dancing postures while performing the characters of mythological stories.

The festival provided a platform to the aspiring artistes to showcase their talent.

“Music is one medium that can brings peace. If one has interest in music, such programmes and festivals can be organized. This way peace will be restored,” said Bipul Das, a Kathak dancer from Assam.

“Our aim is to popularize the art form and propagate. This is only a Kathak Kendra. We have to perform to get the interest of the audiences. And here we’ve also involve the local artists as well,” said Gitanjali Lal, the organizer.

Sponsored by the Sangeet Natak Academy’s constituent body Kathak Kendra and Tripura Cultural affairs department attracted a large number of people. Such initiatives, which are rare in the region, have put a new thought and given new life to the classical art forms. By Pinaki Das (ANI)

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Famous Khajuraho dance festival begins in MP

February 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Khajuraho (MP), Feb 27 (ANI): The annual week-long Khajuraho dance festival kick-started in Madhya Pradesh.

The classical dance festival in Khajuraho is staged against the backdrop of tenth century temples built by rulers of the Chandella dynasty.

Organized by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department, the cultural extravaganza takes place at an open-air auditorium in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Khajuraho Dance Festival, though comparatively a dance festival of recent origin, has already become a legendary festival having earned a great deal of reputation among locals and foreigners.

The dances performed here are said to be truly divine with the wonderful backdrop of the sculptures of Khajuraho. The temples are brightly lit and are shimmering with the lights.

State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that the government proposes to hold an international event soon at the tourist spot.

“Khajuraho is a reflection of the entire human lifestyle. It is a reflection of the Indian cultural heritage, it is a story in itself, and it is a way of living life. To promote this place as a tourist spot, we are thinking of ways to improve the festival. We are also proposing an international event soon after the elections and after the rainy season,” said Chauhan.

Among the Indian classic dances portrayed during the festival include Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Manipuri.

The best performers of these dance forms are specially invited to the festival.

The festival offers an opportunity for amatuer artists too to rub shoulders with the exponents. For many of them, a performance in Khajuraho is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“This place is really very pure. The feeling of performing here is really good. The audience and ambience is good,” said Kasturi, an artist.

A cluster of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Temples dating back to 950-1050 AD, known for its erotic sculptures, has endowed Khajuraho with international fame and recognition.

The festival was started by the Madhya Pradesh Government in 1975 and now entices the whole world. By Narendra Parmar(ANI)

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