Bhubaneswar: Artists from different fields and districts gathered Monday at Rabindra Mandap, one of Odisha’s premier auditoriums, as they were felicitated with the prestigious Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Awards and Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the years 2019 and 2020.
Ananta Mahapatra (acting & direction) and Kumkum Mohanty (Odissi dance) received Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Award for 2019 and 2020 respectively. This apart, a total of 32 artists from different fields were felicitated with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi (OSNA) awards for the year 2019 and 2020.
For Kabisamrat Upendra Bhanja Award, the artists got Rs 5 lakh cash rewards each, while for the Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, the amount was Rs 2 lakh.
Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Secretary Prabodh Rath said, “The pandemic forced us to be restrictive in the celebration of the awards ceremony. As per the Odia Language, Literature and Culture department’s instruction, we have started the initiative of providing help to the artists without any difficulties. We are requesting artists to apply online for grants.”
Rath also said, “For the promotion of folk arts through Guru Shisya Parampara, we have started ‘Dikshyanta’ programme, under which, we have trained students on different folk art forms such as Ghoda Nacha, Samprada, Prahallada Natak, Dhabalpur, Banabadi, Duruha and others.”
OSNA president Aruna Mohanty said that since 1992, the academy has been presenting award named after Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja. OSNA has so far awarded more than 400 artists and has also increased the cash prize for the awardees.
Odia Language, Literature and Culture department Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said that during Covid-19, the government gave monetary relief to the artists. Also, more than 15,000 artist of the state would be given monetary relief by the government. He also said that very soon, the department would launch a blue print for the promotion and safety of folk arts of the state.
PNN