• Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the regional centre of the Sangeet Natak Akademi ‘Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra’ in Hyderabad along with Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy

• Also, the foundation stone was laid for the ‘Bharat Kala Mandapam’ auditorium as a part of the centenary celebrations of legendary Telugu singer Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao.

• Keeping the contributions of Ghantasala in mind, the Sangeet Natak Akademi proposed the construction of an auditorium within the ‘Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra’ at the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) campus in Hyderabad.

• He was not just a singer, but a freedom fighter who spent more than a year in jail for his participation in the Quit India movement.

• The Dakshin Bharat Sanskritik Kendra is envisaged to promote research and documentation of music, folk and tribal arts, theatre, and puppetry.

• The centre will be developed as a state-of-the-art regional centre and a leading cultural space that would foster the cultural growth and performative milieu of the state.

Sangeet Natak Akademi

• Sangeet Natak Akademi, the apex body in the field of performing arts in the country, was set up in 1953 for the preservation and promotion of the vast intangible heritage of India’s diverse culture expressed in forms of music, dance and drama. 

• Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous body of the ministry of culture and is fully funded by the government for implementation of its schemes and programmes.

• The functions of the Akademi are set down in the Akademi’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on September 11, 1961. 

• The registered office of the Akademi is at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi. 

• The management of the Akademi vests in its General Council. 

• The chairman of the Akademi is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years.

• The Akademi coordinates and collaborates with government and art academies of different states and Union Territories, as also with major cultural institutions in the country.

Two constituent units of Sangeet Natak Akademi are dance-teaching institutions. They are:

i) The Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) at Imphal. JNMDA has its origin in the Manipur Dance College established by the government in April 1954. Funded by the Akademi since its inception, it became a constituent unit of the Akademi in 1957.

ii) Kathak Kendra in Delhi. It is one of the leading teaching institutions in Kathak dance. Located in Delhi, it offers courses at various levels in Kathak dance and in vocal music and Pakhawaj.

Besides the constituent units, the Akademi presently has five centres:

i) Kutiyattam (Koodiyattam) Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram for preserving and promoting the age-old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala.

ii) Sattriya Kendra, Guwahati for promoting the Sattriya traditions of Assam.

iii) North-East Centre, Guwahati for preserving the traditional and folk performing art traditions of north-eastern India.

iv) North-East Documentation Centre, Agartala for festival and field documentation in the northeast. 

v) Chhau Kendra, Chandankiyari for promoting the Chhau Dances of eastern India.

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards are the highest national recognition conferred on practising artists. The Akademi also confers Fellowships on eminent artists and scholars of music, dance and drama. In 2006, it instituted annual awards to young artists – the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. 

• The Akademi’s Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) carries a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh and the Akademi Puraskar (Akademi Awards) carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

• The Akademi’s archive, comprising audio and video tapes, photographs, and films is one of the largest in the country and is extensively drawn upon for research in the performing arts.

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