The prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (UBKUP) will be presented to 82 young and amazing artists in a special ceremony tomorrow, 22 November 2024, at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath, New Delhi. The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the fields of music, dance, drama, folk and tribal arts, and puppetry, will be granted by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The ceremony will be supervised by Dr Sandhya Purecha, Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, and Smt. Uma Nanduri, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The event will mark the fulfillment of a year-long celebration of young talent, with recipients honored for their excellence in traditional and contemporary performing arts.
The awardees, selected for their outstanding artistic contributions, will be congratulated with a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a plaque, and an angavastram (traditional shawl). The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, named after the legendary Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, was instituted by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2006 to motivate and encourage young artists under the age of 40.
In addition to the award ceremony, a Festival of Performing Arts will be held from 22 to 26 November 2024 at three major venues across the city: Meghdoot Theatre Complex, Rabindra Bhawan, and Vivekanand Auditorium. The festival will showcase the talents of the awardees and provide them with a platform to perform in front of a prominent audience.
Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2022 Awardees
The recipients of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the year 2022 include artists from various fields of performing arts:
Music
Hindustani Vocal: Samit Mallick, Samarth Janve
Hindustani Instrumental: Sangeet Mishra (Sarangi), Partho Roy Choudhury (Santoor)
Carnatic Vocal: K. Gayatri, I. Sweta Prasad
Carnatic Instrumental: B. Anantha Krishnan (Violin), Sahana S.V (Veena)
Creative & Experimental Music: Manoj Rai
Other Major Traditions: Nandini Rao Gujar (Sugam Sangeet)
Dance
Bharatanatyam: Mandakranta Roy
Kathak: Kadam Parikh
Manipuri: Urmika Maibam
Kuchipudi: T. Reddi Lakshmi
Odissi: Arupa Gayatri Panda
Sattriya: Dimpee Baishya
Mohiniattam: Akshara M Das
Chhau: Pradyumna Kumar Mohanta
Creative & Experimental Dance: Mingma D. Lepcha
Other Major Traditions: Aparna Nangiar (Nangiarkoothu)
Theatre
Playwriting: Beluru Raghunandan
Direction: Ifra Mushtaq Kak, Harishankar Ravi
Acting: Harwinder Singh, Kumar Ravikant, Siddhi Upadhye
Mime: Mukunda Nath
Lighting: Sangeet Shrivastava
Folk/Tribal Arts & Puppetry
Lata Tiwari & Sanjay Datt Panday (Folk Music & Dance, Uttarakhand)
Chow Saratham Namchoom (Folk Music, Arunachal Pradesh)
Binita Devi (Puppetry, Assam)
Mahesh Aba Satarkar (Folk Dance, Goa)
Moirangthem Kendra Singh (Nata Sankirtan, Manipur)
Overall Contribution
Anuthama Murali (Overall Contribution to Performing Arts)
Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2023 Awardees
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the year 2023 has also recognized the following talents:
Music
Hindustani Vocal: Anuja Zokarkar, Monika Soni
Hindustani Instrumental: Rishi Shankar Upadhyay (Pakhawaj), Sarang Rajan Kulkarni (Sarod)
Carnatic Vocal: S. R. Vinay Sharva, Ramakrishnan Murthy
Carnatic Instrumental: Akshay Anantapadmanabhan (Mridangam)
Creative & Experimental Music: Saikhom Pinky Devi, Satyavathi Mudavath
Other Major Traditions: Nagesh Shankarrao Adgaonkar (Abhang)
Dance
Bharatanatyam: Apoorva Jayaraman
Kathak: Meghranjani Medhi
Kathakali: Kalamandalam Vipin Sankar
Manipuri: Pukhrambam Reepa Devi
Kuchipudi: Muramalla Surendra Nadh
Odissi: Debasis Pattnaik
Sattriya: Mukunda Saikia Barbayan
Mohiniattam: Vidya Pradeep
Chhau: Sunita Mahato
Music for Dance: Venkateshwaran Kuppuswamy
Theatre
Playwriting: Priyadarshini Mishra
Direction: Bending Walling, Suvojit Bandyopadhyay
Acting: Rutuja Rajan Bagwe, Vipan Kumar, Shruti Singh
Make-up: Mallikarjuna Rao Bachala
Other Major Traditions: Puneet Dimari & Amit Khanduri (Ramleela, Uttarakhand)
Folk/Tribal Arts & Puppetry
Angadi Bhaskar (Folk Music, Dappalu, Telangana)
Alok Bishoyi (Folk Dance & Music, Odisha)
Padma Dolker (Folk Music & Dance, Ladakh)
Sukhram Pahan (Folk Music, Jharkhand)
Yusuf Khan Mewati Jogi (Folk Music, Rajasthan)
Kalamandalam Ravisankar T S (Folk Instrument, Chenda, Kerala)
Dixit Kushal Manvantray (Folk Dance, Gujarat)
Priyanka Shakti Thakur (Traditional Music, Maharashtra)
Anureet Pal Kaur (Folk Music, Punjab)
Charu Sharma (Folk Music, Himachal Pradesh)
Laxminarayan Jena (Overall Contribution to Performing Arts)
This industry serves as a stepping stone for young artists, motivating them to continue their artistic journeys and maintain India's rich cultural legacy. The festival will highlight the massive talent and creativity of the awardees and provide a platform for the next generation of performers to showcase their skills to a broader audience.(PR)