Sangeet Natak Akademi

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Sangeet Natak Akademi has bestowed special one-time awards commemorating 75 years of India’s independence on 86 artistes, apart from selecting 128 performing artistes from various fields for its regular annual awards for the years 2019-21.

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.
• 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 functions of the Akademi are set down in the Akademi’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on 11 September 1961.
• The registered office of the Akademi is at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi now has three constituent units, two of these being dance-teaching institutions: the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) at Imphal, and Kathak Kendra in Delhi.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi confers classical status on nine Indian dance forms:

• Bharatanatyam: Tamil Nadu
• Kathak: Northern India
• Kathakali: Kerala
• Kuchipudi: Andhra Pradesh
• Manipuri: Manipur
• Mohiniaattam: Kerala
• Odissi: Odisha
• Sattriya: Assam
• Chhau: Odisha

Question: Differentiate the characteristics of Kathak and Kathakali dance.