Bhubaneswar: Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, in New Delhi has selected six Odia artistes of the performing arts for Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2022 and 2023.
According to sources, popular vocalist and scholar Sangita Gosain will be felicitated with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Akademi Puruskar) for her contribution to Odissi music for 2023 while Snehaprava Samantaray, former lecturer of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, will be honoured with the Akademi award for her contribution to Odissi dance for 2023.
For Odissi dance, Debasish Pattnaik will be given the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar-2023 as an acknowledgement of his achievements as a promising young artiste. Similarly, folk dancer and musician Alok Bishoyi will be awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the same year.
Odissi dance guru Niranjan Rout has been selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Akademi Puruskar) for the year 2022. Arupa Gayatri Panda has been selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the year 2022 in the category of dance for Odissi.
The award carries a cash reward Rs 1 lakh apart from a ‘tamrapatra’ and ‘angavastram’.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships and awards will be conferred by the President of India in a special investiture ceremony.
Talking to Ommcom News, Odissi dancer Arupa Gayatri said, “I am deeply humbled and honored to announce that I have been awarded the esteemed Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award for the year 2022 in the field of Odissi. This recognition fills my heart with immense gratitude and joy.”
Expressing her gratitude to the Sangeet Natak Akademi, she further said, “First and foremost, I extend my sincerest thanks to the distinguished jury for recognizing my efforts and granting me this prestigious award. Your acknowledgment is a great source of motivation for me to continue striving for excellence in my art form. To my teachers, whose unwavering dedication and guidance have shaped me into the dancer I am today. Your faith in me and your tireless efforts to nurture my talent have been instrumental in my journey towards this achievement.”
