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Sangeet Natak Akademi - India's national academy for music,
dance and drama - is the first National Academy of the arts
set-up by the Republic of India. It was created by a
resolution of the (then) Ministry of Education, Government of
India, dated 31 May 1952 notified in the Gazette of India
of June 1952. The Akademi became functional the following
year, with the appointment of its first Chairman, Dr P.V.
Rajamannar, and the formation of its all-India council of
representatives, the General Council. The first President of
India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, inaugurated it on 28 January 1953
in a special function held in the Parliament House. Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, then Union Minister for Education, in his
opening address at the inauguration of the Akademi, said:
"India's
precious heritage of music, drama and dance is one which we
must cherish and develop. We must do so not only for our own
sake but also as our contribution to the cultural heritage of
mankind. Nowhere is it truer than in the field of art that to
sustain means to create. Traditions cannot be preserved but
can only be created afresh. It will be the aim of this Akademi
to preserve our traditions by offering them an institutional
form…….
"In
a democratic regime, the arts can derive their sustenance only
from the people, and the state, as the organized manifestation
of the people's will, must, therefore, undertake …
maintenance and development [of arts] as one of [its] first
responsibilities…"
The
Akademi's charter of functions was expanded along the original
lines in 1961, when the Sangeet Natak Akademi was
reconstituted by the Government as a society and registered
under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 (as amended in
1957). These functions are set down in the Akademi's
Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a
society on 11 September 1961.
Since
its inception the Akademi has been functioning as the apex
body of the performing arts in the country, preserving and
promoting the vast intangible heritage of India's diverse
culture expressed in the forms of music, dance and drama. In
furtherance of its objectives the Akademi coordinates and
collaborates with the governments and art academies of
different States and Territories of the Union of India as also
with major cultural institutions in the country. The Akademi
establishes and looks after institutions and projects of
national importance in the field of the performing arts. The
National School of Drama, set up in 1959, was the first of
their two national institutions of dance -- Jawaharlal
Nehru Manipur Dance Academy in Imphal and Kathak Kendra
(National Institute of Kathak Dance) in New Delhi - were set
up in 1964 respectively. National Projects of Support to
Kuttiyattam - the age-old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala - Chhau
dances of eastern India and Sattriya traditions of Assam have
been lauched subsequently. After ten years of intensive work
under the Kutiyattam project, the UNESCO declared Kutiyattam
as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in May 2001.It
organizes performances of music, dance, and theatre.
The
Akademi Awards are the highest national recognition conferred
on practicing artistes. The Akademi also confers Fellowships
and Scholarship, their numbers being restricted to 30 living
recipients. The Fellowship and Awards caries a purse money of Rs. 50,000/-, a shawl and Tamrapatra.
To
subsidize the work of institutions engaged in
teaching, performing or promoting music, dance, or theatre;
the Akademi gives grants-in-aid for research, documentation, and
publishing in the performing arts; organizes and subsidizes
seminars and conferences of subject specialists; documents and
records the performing arts for its audio-visual archive.
The
Akademi's audio-visual archive comprising audio/video tapes,
photographs and films is the largest in the country and is
extensively drawn upon by the scholars for research on the
performing arts. The Akademi maintains a reference library
consisting of books in English, Hindi and some regional
languages. The Akademi has a gallery of musical instruments in
Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, where more than 250 musical
instruments are displayed. It also has a documentation unit,
which has collected and recorded works of maestros in the
field of music, dance and theatre on audio and video to help
researchers in the field and a gallery of musical
instruments; and publishes literature on relevant subjects on
a small scale.
As
the apex body specializing in the performing arts of the
country, the Akademi also renders advice and assistance to the
Government of India in the task of formulating and
implementing policies and programmes in the field.
Additionally, the Akademi carries a part of the
responsibilities of the state for fostering cultural contacts
between various regions in India, and between India and the
world.
The
Sangeet Natak Akademi is presently an Autonomous Body of the
Ministry of Culture, Government of India and is
fully funded by the Government for implementation of its
schemes and programmes.
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