Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (

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: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts. The award earlier in 2003, consisted of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an '' angavastram'' (a shawl), and a ''tamrapatra'' (a brass plaque). Since 2009 cash prize has been increased to ₹1,00,000. The awards are given in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts and puppetry, and for contribution/scholarship in performing arts.

Award recipients

The recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in various categories of performing arts have been listed below

Music

Hindustani music

Vocal

*1952 –

Mushtaq Hussain Khan Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan (1878–1964) was an Indian classical vocalist. He belonged to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. Early life Mushtaq Hussain was born in a family of traditional musicians in Sahaswan, a small town in Budaun District of Utt ...

*1953 – Kesarbai Kerkar *1954 – Rajab Ali Khan *1955 –

Anant Manohar Joshi Pandit Anant Manohar Joshi (b 8-March-1881 - d 12-Sep-1967), also known as Antubuwa Joshi, was an Indian vocalist of Khayal-genre of Hindustani classical music. Pandit Antubuwa Joshi was born at Kinhai, near Aundh, in Satara district of Mahara ...

*1956 –

Rajabhaiyya Poonchhwale Raja Bhaiya Poochwale (1882–1956) was an Indian musician from Poonch Gharana. Raja Bhaiya Poochwale also considered from Gwalior Gharana. Raja Bhaiya was born on 12 August 1882 in Gwalior State of the Central India Agency. His birth name was R ...

*1957 – Rasoolan Bai *1958 – Ganesh Ramachandra Behere *1959 –

Krishnarao Shankar Pandit ''Gaan Maharishi'' Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893–1989) was an Indian musician, considered by many as one of the leading vocalists of the Gwalior gharana. He authored several articles and 8 books on music and was the founder of ''Shankar ...

*1960 – Altaf Hussain Khan *1961 – Y. S. Mirashi Buwa *1962 – Bade Ghulam Ali Khan *1963 – Omkarnath Thakur *1964 – Rahimuddin Khan Dagar *1965 –

Hirabai Barodekar Hirābai Barodekar (1905 – 1989) was an Indian Hindustāni classical music singer, of Kirana gharana. She was disciple of Ustād Abdul Wahid Khān. Early life and background Hirabai was born as Champākali to Kirānā Gharānā master Us ...

*1966 –

Siddheswari Devi Siddheswari Devi (1908 – 18 March 1977) was a legendary Hindustani singer from Varanasi, India, known as ''Maa'' (mother). Born in 1908, she lost her parents early and was brought up by her aunt, the noted singer Rajeshwari Devi. Initiation ...

*1967 – Amir Khan *1968 –

Mogubai Kurdikar Mogubai Kurdikar (15 July 1904 – 10 February 2001) was a renowned Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Early years and background Mogubai was born in the village of Kurdi in Portuguese-ruled Goa. Little is known of her fat ...

*1969 – Ramchatur Mallick *1970 – Nisar Hussain Khan *1971 – Mallikarjun Mansur *1972 – Begum Akhtar *1973 – Gangubai Hangal *1974 –

Kumar Gandharva Pandit Kumar Gandharva (pronunciation:, Kn: ಕುಮಾರ್ ಗಂಧರ್ವ; 8 April 1924 – 12 January 1992), originally known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath was an Indian classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style ...

*1975 –

Bhimsen Joshi Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khaya ...

*1975-76

Gavri Devi Gavri Devi (also known as Gavari Bai) (14 April 1920 – 29 June 1988) was an Indian folk singer from Rajasthan, India, known for her Mand, a singing style of folk music. In addition to Mand singing, she used to sing Thumri, Bhajan and Ghaza ...

(Vocal) (Jodhpur, Rajasthan) *1976 –

Narayanrao Vyas Narayanrao Vyas (1902–1984) was a Hindustani musician of Gwalior gharana. He was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. He cut several 78 rpm discs, classical khayals and semi-classical bhajans and thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or st ...

*1977 – Girija Devi *1978 – Khadim Hussain Khan *1979 – Sarachchandra Arolkar *1980 – Nivruttibua Sarnaik *1981 – Basavaraj Rajguru *1982 – Vasantrao Deshpande *1983 – Mahadev Prasad Mishra *1984 – Sharafat Hussain Khan *1985 –

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was a leading Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur ''gharana'', or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She was a performer of the classical genre '' ...

Aminuddin Dagar Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (20 October 1923 at Indore, India – 28 December 2000 Kolkata, India), of Dagar Gharana of Dhrupad singing Gavri Devi Gavri Devi (also known as Gavari Bai) (14 April 1920 – 29 June 1988) was an Indian folk singer from Rajasthan, India, known for her Mand, a singing style of folk music. In addition to Mand singing, she used to sing Thumri, Bhajan and Ghaza ...

(Vocal) (Jodhpur, Rajasthan) *1986 –

Asgari Bai Asgari Bai (25 August 1918 – 9 August 2006) was an Indian Dhrupad singer. She was a recipient of Padma Shri, Tansen Samman, Academy Samman and Shikhar Samman. Asgari Bai was born in Bijawar, Chhatarpur. She had come with her mother Nazeer ...

, Firoz Dastur,

Manik Varma Manik Varma (16 May 1926 – 10 November 1996) was an Indian classical singer from the Kirana and Agra gharanas (singing styles). Career Besides the pure classical khyal, she also sang semi-classical and light music like thumri, Marathi Naty ...

*1987 – C. R. Vyas, Shobha Gurtu, Pandit Jasraj *1988 –

Padmavati Gokhale Shaligram Padmavati Shaligram Gokhale (1918 – 20 July 2014) was a Hindustani music vocalist, instrumentalist, and music educator. Shaligram was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Gokhale performed all over Hindustan (India and Pakistan) before partition. H ...

*1989 –

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe, better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished himself ...

*1990 –

K. G. Ginde Krishna Gundopant Ginde, better known as K.G. Ginde (26 December 1925 – 13 July 1994) was an Indian classical singer and teacher. His guru S N Ratanjankar was his biggest influence. Biography Ginde, called "Chhotu" (small) by family member ...

Dhondutai Kulkarni Dhondutai Kulkarni, (23 July 1927 – 1 June 2014) was an Indian classical singer from the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She was the last legendary exponent of orthodox Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana. Early life Dhondutai was born in a Brahmin family in Kolh ...

*1991 – N. Zahiruddin Dagar, Prabha Atre *1992 –

Ramarao V. Naik Ramarao V. Naik (1909–1998) was an Indian classical singer of the Agra Gharana. Early life Naik was born in 1909 in Bangalore. His father was a renowned violinist. He was one of the most renowned singers of the Agra Gharana in South India. ...

, Shiv Kumar Shukla *1993 – Bala Saheb Poochwale,

Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar (2 February 1927 – 27 July 2011) was an exponent of Dagar vani Dhrupad of Indian classical music. He represented the 19th generation of Dagar Tradition. His cousins Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar were kn ...

*1994 –

Sulochana Brahaspati Sulochana Brahaspati (born 1937, in Allahabad) is one of the noted vocalist of Hindustani classical music. In 1994, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists, given by the Sangee ...

, Zia Fariddudin Dagar *1995 –

A. Kanan A. Kanan / Arkut Kannabhiran (18 June 1920 – 12 September 2004), more popularly known as A. Kanan, was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition and one of the legendary vocalist from Kirana Gharana. He is known for the khayal f ...

*1996 – Dinkar Kaikini, Hafeez Ahmad Khan *1997 – L. K. Pandit *1998 –

Puttaraj Gawai Pandit Puttaraj Gawayigalu (3 March 1914 – 17 September 2010) was an Indian musician in the Hindustani classical tradition, a scholar who authored more than 80 books in Kannada, Sanskrit and Hindi, a music teacher and a social servant. A memb ...

galu, Parveen Sultana, Rajan and Sajan Mishra *1999–2000 –

Ajoy Chakraborty Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (born 25 December 1952) is an Hindustani classical vocalist, composer, lyricist and an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana. He was given Padma Bhushan Award, the third highest civilian award in India in 2020. Early li ...

Rita Ganguly Rita Ganguly is an exponent in the Indian classical arts. An accomplished dancer, musician and vocalist, she was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000 and with the Padma Shri in 2003. She is the mother of actress Meghna Kothari a ...

Malabika Kanan Malabika Kanan (27 December 1930 – 17 February 2009) was an Indian classical vocalist. Biography Kanan was born in Lucknow on 27 December 1930 to Rabindralal Roy, a musicologist and a disciple of Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. In her early years ...

*2001 – Abhay Narayan Mallick, Sangameshwar Gurav,

Malini Rajurkar Malini Rajurkar (born 8 January 1941) is a Hindustani classical singer of Gwalior Gharana. Early life She grew up in the state of Rajasthan in India. For three years she taught mathematics at the Savitri Girls’ High School & College, Ajmer, ...

*2002 – Sushila Rani Patel, Sharayu Kalekar *2003 –

Ghulam Mustafa Khan Ghulam Mustafa Khan, SI ( ur, ڈاکٹر غلام مصطفیٰ خان) (23 September 1912 – 25 September 2005) was a researcher, literary critic, linguist, author, scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics, educationist and religious and ...

, Yeshwant Balkrishna Joshi *2004 – Balwant Rai Bhatt,

Tejpal Singh Tejpal Singh is an Indian politician and a member of the 16th Legislative Assembly of India. Earlier, he was a member of Samajwadi Party. Currently, he represents the Chhata constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Rashtriya Lok Dal ...

and Surinder Singh *2005 – S. C. R. Bhat,

Ramashreya Jha Ramashreya Jha (11 August 1928 – 1 January 2009) was a distinguished composer, musician, scholar and teacher of Hindustani Classical music. He was the Head of the Department of Music in Allahabad University from 1980 to 1989. He was known for h ...

*2006 – Vijay Kumar Kichlu, Rashid Khan *2007 – Vidyadhar Vyas, Govardhan Mishra *2008 – Ulhas Kashalkar,

M.R. Gautam Madura Ramaswami Gautam (born 19 March 1924), often shortened to M. R. Gautam, is an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist of the Agra Gharana. Early life He was born in March 1924 in Tiruchappali, Tamil Nadu. Gautam learned under Ramarao Naik ...

*2009 –

Abdul Rashid Khan Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan (19 August 1908 – 18 February 2016) was an Indian vocalist of Hindustani music. Apart from khayal, he performed dhrupad, Dhamar (music), dhamar and thumri. , he is the oldest person to have been conferred a Orders ...

Vasundhara Komkali Vasundhara Komkali (1931–2015), popularly known as Vasundhara Tai, was an Indian classical musician and one of the leading exponents of the Gwalior gharana, an old Khyal tradition of Hindustani music. She was the wife of renowned musician, Ku ...

*2010 – Chhannulal Mishra,

Yashpaul Pandit Yashpaul (born 22 March 1937) is an Indian classical singer belonging to the Agra gharana (singing style). Early life Yashpaul was born in Gujranwala in 1937. After the partition his parents migrated to India and settled in Jalandhar, ...

*2011 – Shruti Sadolikar,

Pandit Venkatesh Kumar Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar (born July 1, 1953) is an Indian Hindustani vocalist. He is best known for his rendition of devotional songs composed by Swami Haridas. Kumar belongs to the Kirana and Gwalior Gharana. Early life and musical traini ...

*2012 – Shankar Lal Mishra,

Rajashekhar Mansur Rajshekhar Mansur (born 16 December 1942 death 1 May 2022) was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. He was the son and disciple of vocalist Mallikarjun Mansur. Early life and education Mansur was born to singer Mallikarjun ...

Ajay Pohankar Ajay Pohankar (born 24 February 1947) is an Indian classical vocalist belonging to Kirana Gharana school of Hindustani classical music. Background and career Ajay Pohankar ( mr, अजय पोहणकर) was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Prades ...

*2013 – Ritwik Sanyal,

Veena Sahasrabuddhe Veena Sahasrabuddhe (14 September 1948 – 29 June 2016) was an Indian vocalist and composer of Hindustani classical music from Kanpur. Her singing style had its roots in Gwalior gharana, but it also borrowed from Jaipur and Kirana gharanas. ...

*2014 –

Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (born 7 October 1960) is a Hindustani classical music vocalist from Mumbai. She belongs to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana tradition. Early life and education Born in Mumbai into a family with strong musical tradition, Ashw ...

, Iqbal Ahmad Khan,

Nathrao Neralkar Pandit Nathrao Neralkar (16 November 1935 – 28 March 2021) was an Indian Hindustani vocal musician and music teacher from the state of Maharashtra. He was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India's highest award in arts, for the yea ...

*2015 –

Mashkoor Ali Khan Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan is an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical singer and teacher from the Kirana gharana, Kirana musical style. As the grandson of Abdul Karim Khan, a founder of the Kirana style, he is a descendant of the gharana's ...

*2016 –

Prabhakar Karekar Pandit Prabhakar Karekar (b 1944) is a Hindustani classical vocalist, born in Goa, India. He was awarded Tansen Samman in 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the year 2016. Background Prabhakar Janardan Karekar was born in 1944, in what wa ...

*2017 –

Lalith J. Rao Lalith J. Rao (also spelt Lalit) (born 6 November 1942) is an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical singer and a representative of the Agra gharana (singing style). Early life Rao's introduction to classical music was at the age of three, ...

, Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha -

Gundecha Brothers The Gundecha Brothers are Indian classical singers of the dhrupad genre of the Dagar vani. From 1985 to 2019 the duo consisted of brothers Umakant Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha and were awarded the Padma Shri for art for 2012. Following the de ...

*2018 –

Mani Prasad Pandit Mani Prasad (4 November 1930) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana (singing style). Early life and training Mani Prasad was born into a family of musicians. His father, Sukhdev Prasad, had received music training fro ...

Madhup Mudgal Madhup Mudgal is an Indian Hindustani classical music vocalist., known for his khayal and bhajan renditions. A disciple of Kumar Gandharva, he is also a composer, conductor of famous Gandharva Choir and has been principal of the Gandharva Mah ...

*2019 – Vinayak Torvi, Prem Kumar Mallick *2020 – Sumitra Guha, Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar *2021 –

Uday Bhawalkar Pandit Uday Bhawalkar is an Indian classical vocalist. He is an exponent of the dhrupad genre. Early years Uday Bhawalkar was born in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, the youngest of three siblings. He began training in classical music from his elder si ...

Subhra Guha Subhra Guha (born 1956) is a vocalist in the Hindustani classical music tradition from the Agra gharana style of singing. Her repertoire covers khyals, thumri and dadra. Biography Subhra Guha was born in Calcutta in 1956. Her family encouraged ...

Instrumental

=
Been Been may refer to: To be Have been * Been (surname) Beens, an ethnic group of Bangladesh Pungi or been, an Indian wind instrument *Rudra veena The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra v ...
/ Rudra Veena/ Vichitra Veena

= *1969 –

Dabir Khan Dabir Khan was a 20th-century 'beenkar' and a vocalist. He was the grandson of legendary vina player Wazir Khan. Career Dabir Khan learned veena from his grandfather, Wazir Khan. He was employed at All India Radio Calcutta. Dabir Khan is ...

*1977 –

Asad Ali Khan Asad Ali Khan (1 December 1937 – 14 June 2011) was an Indian musician who played the plucked string instrument ''rudra veena''. Khan performed in the style ''dhrupad'' and was described as the best living ''rudra veena'' player in India by ...

*1981 – Zia Mohiuddin Dagar *1994 – Pandit Gopal Krishan *2012 –

Bahauddin Dagar Baha'ud'din Mohiuddin Dagar (born 1970) is the rudra veena player and son of famous north Indian musician Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. He plays rudra veena with the ''dagarbani'' style. He represents the 20th generation of Dagar lineage, referring to N ...

=
Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

= *1983 – Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasiya *1986 – Devendra Murdeshwar *1994 – Raghunath Seth *2010 –

Nityanand Haldipur Nityanand Haldipur (born 7 May 1948) is a performer and teacher of the Indian bamboo flute, known in India as the bansuri. He is a purist in the true Maihar Gharana tradition and learned from Ma Annapurna Devi, in Mumbai, India. He has been rat ...

*2014 –

Ronu Majumdar Ronu Majumdar is an Indian flautist in the Hindustani classical music tradition. Awards, nominations, and music collaborations In 1981, Ronu Majumdar won the first prize at the All India Radio competition, and the President's Gold Medal. He ...

*2017 – Pt. Rajendra Prasanna *2019 –

Chetan Joshi Chetan Joshi is a noted flautist in the Hindustani Music, Hindustani classical music tradition. He was born in Jharia and brought up at Noamundi and Bokaro Steel City. He was trained under Late Acharya Jagadish (Bokaro), Late Pandit Bholanath Pr ...

= Guitar

= *2005 –

Brij Bhushan Kabra Brij Bhushan Kabra (1937 – 12 April 2018) was an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music. Kabra was born in 1937 to Goverdhanlal Kabra in Jodhpur where he spent his youth. He was interested in spo ...

= Harmonium

= *1999–2000 – Appa Jalgaonkar *2005 – Tulsidas Vasant Borkar

= Pakhavaj

= *1955 – Govind Rao Burhanpurkar *1965 – Sakharam Tavde *1967 –

Ayodhya Prasad Ayodhya Prasad Sharma (Hindi: अयोध्या प्रसाद शर्मा, 30 April 1909 – 28 February 1972) was an Indo-Fijian farmers' leader and politician. He formed the most successful farmers' union in Fiji and forced the ...

*1978 –

Purushottam Das Purushottam Das (Born: 7 July 1907 – Died: 21 January 1991) was the pioneer of the Nathdwara school of Pakhawaj (a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum instrument usually played in the Indian subcontinent) playing. Awards and recognitions * Rajas ...

*1988 – Ramshankardas Pagaldas *1991 – Chatrapati Singh *1993 – Gopaldas Panse *1995 – Ram Ashish Pathak *2003 –

Bhavani Shankar Bhavani Shankar is an Indian pakhawaj drum player. Bhavani Shankar was born into a musical family, beginning his study of pakhawaj and tabla at the age of eight. His father Babulalji was a renowned Kathak performer, a style of Indian class ...

*2011 – Totaram Sharma *2020 – Dal Chand Sharma

= Santoor

= *1986 – Shivkumar Sharma *1993 –

Bhajan Sopori Pandit Bhajan Sopori (22 June 1948 – 2 June 2022) was an Indian instrumentalist. He was a player of the santoor, an ancient stringed musical instrument. Early life and family Sopori was born in Srinagar to Shambhu Nath Sopori on 22 Jun ...

*2018 – Tarun Bhattacharya

= Sarangi

= *1966 – Shakoor Khan *1975 –

Ram Narayan Ram Narayan (; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument ''sarangi'' as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first international ...

*1976 – Gopal Misra *1986 – Sabri Khan *1988 – Hanuman Prasad Mishra *1990 – Abdul Lateef Khan *1992 –

Sultan Khan Sultan Khan may refer to: *Sultan Khan (chess player) (1903–1966), Indian chess player *Sultan Khan (musician) (1940–2011), Indian sarangi player *Sultan Mohammed Khan (1919–2010), Pakistani civil servant and British India Army officer *Sult ...

*1996 – Inderlal Dhandra, Ramchandra Mishra *2008 –

Ramesh Mishra Ramesh Mishra ( hi, रमेश मिश्रा, surname also spelled Misra) (Varanasi, India, 2 October 1948 - New York, U.S., 13 March 2017) was an Indian sarangi player. Mishra comes from a family of sarangi players and studied from an ...

*2013 – Dhruba Ghosh

= Sarod

= *1952 –

Allauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

*1953 –

Hafiz Ali Khan Hafiz Ali Khan (1888–1972) was an Indian sarod player.Brick, mortar & false notes
Dawn (newspaper), Published 29 Ap ...

*1963 – Ali Akbar Khan *1971 –

Radhika Mohan Maitra Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917–1981) was an Indian sarod player and the guru of Narendra Nath Dhar, Kalyan Mukherjea, Buddhadev Das Gupta, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Abanindra Maitra, Pranab Kumar Naha, Samarendra Nath Sikdar, Michael Robbins, and many ...

*1986 –

Sharan Rani Backliwal Sharan Rani (also known as Sharan Rani Backliwal, '' née'' Mathur) (9 April 1929 – 8 April 2008) was an Indian classical sarod player and music scholar. Her private collection of 379 musical instruments ranging from the 15th to the 19th ...

*1988 – Zarin Sharma *1989 – Amjad Ali Khan *1993 –

Buddhadev Das Gupta Buddhadev Das Gupta (1 February 1933 – 15 January 2018) was an Indian classical musician who played the sarod. He used to reside in Kolkata, India. He was one of the artists featured in Nimbus Records' ''The Raga Guide''. Early life and tr ...

*1999–2000 –

Rajeev Taranath Rajeev Taranath (born 17 October 1932) is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod. Taranath is a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan. Career Rajeev Taranath was born in Bangalore on 17 October 1932. He received his initial training in vocal mus ...

*2004 – Aashish Khan *2018 –

Tejendra Majumdar Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar (born 17 May 1961) is an Indian sarod player and pupil of Bahadur Khan. Majumdar is one of the most popular and celebrated modern sarod players. Training He started his music training under his grandfather Bibhu ...

= Shehnai

= *1956 – Ustad Bismillah Khan *1985 – Ali Hussain Khan *1989 – Pt.

Anant Lal Anant Lal (1927 – 3 March 2011), often referred to by the title Pandit, was an Indian classical musician who played the shehnai. He worked for All India Radio and played with artists such as Ravi Shankar and Debu Chaudhuri in addition to reco ...

*1996 – Pt. Raghunath Prasanna *2008 – Krishna Ram Chaudhary *2009 – Ali Ahmad Hussain *2017 – Rajendra Prasanna

= Sitar

= *1958 – Yusuf Ali *1960 –

Wahid Khan Wahid Khan was an Indian surbahar and sitar player. He was the son of Imdad Khan and belonged to the Imdadkhani gharana or ''Etawah gharana'' of classical music. Early life Wahid Khan was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. He was still quite young ...

*1962 – Pt. Ravi Shankar *1968 –

Mushtaq Ali Khan Mushtaq Ali Khan (20 June 1911 in Banaras – 21 July 1989) and was an Indian classical sitar, surbahar (and pakhawaj) player. Training and lineage Khan learnt music from his father, Ashiq Ali Khan, who had learned sitar from the 19th cent ...

*1974 –

Nikhil Banerjee Pandit Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee (14 October 1931 – 27 January 1986) was an Indian classical sitarist of the Maihar Gharana. Along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, he emerged as one of the leading exponents of the sitar. He ...

*1987 – Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan,

Imrat Khan Imrat Khan (17 November 1935 – 22 November 2018) was an Indian sitar and surbahar player and composer. He was the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan.Farrell, Gerry (2001)"Khan, Imrat" ''Grove Music Online''. (subscription ...

(also Surbahar) *1989 – Balaram Pathak *1992 –

Uma Shankar Mishra Uma Shankar Mishra (c. 1923 – 4 July 2016) was an Indian Independence Movement activist, politician, and President-District Congress Committee Raebareli. His political party was Indian National Congress. Biography Early life Mishra has act ...

*1994 –

Shamim Ahmed Khan Shamim Ahmed Khan (10 September 1938 – 14 February 2012)"Si ...

*1996 –

Debu Chaudhuri Pandit Devabrata (Debu) Chaudhuri (( bn, পণ্ডিত দেবব্রত চৌধুরী); 30 May 1935 – 1 May 2021) was an Indian sitarist and teacher. He was conferred the Padmabhushan and Padma Shri awards. He was the writer of ...

*2001 –

Manilal Nag Pandit Manilal Nag (born 16 August 1939) is an Indian classical sitar player and an exponent of the Bishnupur gharana of Bengal. He was given the Padma Shri Award, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2020. Training and career Nag was ...

*2003 – Arvind Parikh *2006 –

Shahid Parvez Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan (commonly known as Shahid Parvez, born 14 October 1954) is an Indian classical sitar maestro from the Imdadkhani gharana. He represents the seventh generation of the Etawah Gharana as its primary exponent. He is praise ...

*2010 – Budhaditya Mukherjee *2015 – Karthick Kumar *2019 – Manju Mehta *2020 – Kushal Das

= Surbahar

= *1991 – Annapurna Devi *2011 –

Pushparaj Koshti Pandit Pushparaj Koshti is an eminent exponent of the surbahar and sitar and one of the senior lineage holders in the Dagar dhrupad tradition. Shri Pushpraj Koshti received his initial training in the Surbahar from his father late Shri. Ramlal K ...

= Tabla

= *1954 –

Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan "Thirakwa" was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the pre-eminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian Classical Music. He was kn ...

*1959 – Ustad Jahangir Khan *1961 – Pt. Kanthe Maharaj *1970 – Masit Khan *1976 – Karamatulla Khan *1979 – Pt. Samta Prasad *1982 –

Ustad Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and was ...

*1984 – Pt. Kishan Maharaj *1990 – Ustad Zakir Hussain *1991 – Shaikh Dawood *1997 –

Swapan Chaudhuri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri (born 30 March 1945), is an Indian tabla player. He has accompanied several musicians of Indian classical music, including, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Bhimshen Joshi, Pandit Jas ...

, Lalji Gokhale *1998 – Pandharinath Gangadhar Nageshkar *1999–2000 – Shankar Ghosh *2001 – Ishwar Lal Mishra *2002 – Suresh B. Gaitonde, Anindo Chatterjee *2004 – Pt. Suresh Talwalkar *2006 –

Kumar Bose Pandit Kumar Bose ( Bangla পন্ডিত কুমার বোস), born 4 April 1953, is an Indian tabla musician and composer of Indian classical music. Family Bose was born in Kolkata in a musical family. His father, Biswanath Bose, ...

*2007 –

Nandan Mehta Nandan Mehta (26 February 1942 – 26 March 2010) was an Indian tabla player and music teacher from Ahmedabad who belonged to the Benaras Gharana of Hindustani classical music. He established Saptak School of Music and started Saptak Annual ...

*2009 – Lachman Singh Seen *2012 –

Sabir Khan Sabir or Sabbir Khan may refer to: * Sabir Khan (musician), Indian sarangi player * Sabbir Khan (Bangladeshi cricketer) (born 1978), Bangladeshi cricketer * Sabir Khan (Indian cricketer) (born 2000), Indian cricketer * Sabbir Khan (born 1976), In ...

(Tabla) *2013 – Hashmat Ali Khan *2014 – Pt. Nayan Ghosh *2016 – Arvind Mulgaonkar *2017 – Pt. Yogesh Samsi *2021 – Ravindra Yavagal

= Violin

= *1972 –

Gajananrao Joshi Gajanan Anant Joshi, better known as "Gajananbuwa Joshi", (January 30, 1911 – June 28, 1987) was a vocalist and violinist in the field of Hindustani music. Early life and background Gajananrao Joshi came from a family of musicians. His gran ...

*1980 –

V. G. Jog Vishnu Govind Jog, better known as V. G. Jog (22 February 1922 – 31 January 2004), was an Indian violinist. He was the foremost exponent of the violin in the Hindustani music tradition in the 20th century, and is credited for introducing ...

*1990 –

N. Rajam N. Rajam (born 1938) is an Indian violinist who performs Hindustani classical music. She remained professor of Music at Banaras Hindu University, eventually became head of the department and the dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts of the Uni ...

*1995 – D. K. Datar *1996 – Annavarapu Rama Swamy *1997 – Sisir Kana Dhar Chowdhury *2007 – Ramoo Prasad Shastri *2016 – Kala Ramnath *2021 – Sangeeta Shankar

Carnatic music

Vocal

*1952 – Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar *1953 – Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer *1954 – Mysore K. Vasudevacharya *1955 – Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer *1956 –

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

*1957 –

Musiri Subramania Iyer Musiri Subramania Iyer (9 April 1899 – 25 March 1975) was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teache ...

*1958 – Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar *1959 –

G. N. Balasubramaniam Gudalur Narayanaswamy Balasubramaniam (6 January 1910 – 1 May 1965), popularly known as GNB, was an Indian Carnatic singer. He innovated the art through emphasis on ''laya ''control and reducing the ''gamakas'' which eventually made Carnatic ...

*1960 – Madurai Mani Iyer *1961 – Mudikondan C. Venkatarama Iyer *1962 –

D. K. Pattammal Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal () (19 March 1919 – 16 July 2009), popularly known as D. K. Pattammal or DKP, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil. Pattammal, along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshm ...

*1963 –

B. Devendrappa Dr. B Devendrappa (1899–1986), known as the Palace Vidwan of Mysore, was one of the notable musicians in the court of Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. B Devendrappa was the son of vocalist B S Ramayya. He was born in Ayanur village of Shimoga district, ...

*1964 – Chittoor S. Subramanyam *1965 –

T. Brinda Thanjavur Brinda (1912-1996) was one of the representatives of the Veenai Dhanammal school of Carnatic Music. She was primarily a vocalist, although she also played the Veena. She is affectionately referred to as 'Brindamma', by her fans. Musica ...

*1966 – Madurai Srirangam Iyengar *1967 – C. Venkata Rao *1968 –

Alathur Srinivasa Iyer Alathur Srinivasa Iyer (1911–1980), born in Tamil Nadu, was an Indian vocalist. Together with Alathur Sivasubramania Iyer, he formed the successful duo known as the Alathur Brothers (though the two were not in fact brothers). He was awarded ...

*1969 –

Dandapani Desikar M M Dandapani Desikar (August 27, 1908 – June 26, 1972) was a Carnatic vocalist, actor and composer. 'Isai Arasu' Dandapani Desikar was born in Tiruchengattangudi, near Nannilam in Madras Presidency. He got training from Manicka Desikar and Kum ...

*1970 –

M. L. Vasanthakumari Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari (popularly referred to as MLV) (3 July 1928 – 31 October 1990) was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulak ...

*1971 – N. Channakeshaviah *1972 –

T. Muktha Thanjavur Muktha, also spelt Mukta and often referred as Mukthamma, (1914–2007) was one of the foremost representatives of the Veena Dhanammal school of Carnatic Music. She, along with her elder sister T. Brinda, formed one of the first women d ...

*1973 –

B.S. Raja Iyengar B.S. Raja Iyengar (1901 - 1978) was a carnatic vocalist who also served as Court Musician at Mysore Kingdom. Background and personal life B.S. Raja Iyengar was born in 1901 in Banavar, Karnataka. Career B.S. Raja Iyengar studied the carnati ...

*1974 –

M. D. Ramanathan Manjapara Devesa Bhagavathar Ramanathan (20 May 1923 – 27 April 1984) was a Carnatic music composer and vocalist who created a distinctive style of singing rich in Bhava and Laya. He was considered for the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Ka ...

*1975 – M. Balamurali Krishna *1976 –

K.V.Narayanaswamy Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy (15 November 1923 – 1 April 2002), often referred to as K. V. Narayanaswamy was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was award ...

*1977 –

Sripada Pinakapani Sripada Pinakapaani (3 August 1913 – 11 March 2013), was a medical doctor, administrator, professor in medicine, and carnatic musician. He received Sangeetha Kalanidhi award in 1983. Pinkapani was born at Priya Agraharam of Srikakulam d ...

*1978 – Madurai S. Somasundaram *1979 –

R K Srikanthan Rudrapatna Krishnashastri Srikantan (14 January 1920 – 17 February 2014), known as R. K. Srikantan, was a vocalist of the Carnatic musical tradition of South Indian music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...

*1980 – Seerkhazhi S. Govindarajan *1981 – Radha and Jayalakshmi *1982 –

T. M. Thiagarajan T. M. Thyagarajan ( ta, டி. எம். தியாகராஜன்) (28 May 1923 – 27 June 2007) fondly known as TMT was a Carnatic vocalist and musicologist from Tamil Nadu in Southern India. He was awarded the Madras Music Acade ...

*1983 –

D. K. Jayaraman Damal Krishnaswamy Jayaraman (popularly known as DKJ), the renowned brother of D. K. Pattammal, was a professional Carnatic music singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1990. After learning music from his si ...

*1984 – Maharajapuram V. Santhanam *1985 – Voleti Venkatesvarulu *1986 – B. Rajam Iyer *1986 –

Nedunuri Krishnamoorthy Nedunuri Krishnamurthy (10 October 1927 – 8 December 2014) was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic vocalist.

*1987 –

Madurai N. Krishnan Madurai Narayanan Krishnan (1928–2005) was an Indian musician, known for his proficiency in carnatic music. He was known to have been proficient in all the three facets of music viz. vocals, lyrics and music and was considered by many as a ''V ...

*1987 –

Mani Krishnaswami Mani Krishnaswami, (also written as Mani Krishnaswamy, 3 February 1930 – 12 July 2002) was a Carnatic music vocalist of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, India. Family Her birth name was Mani Perundevi. Her father, LakshmiNarasimhachari, was the secre ...

*1988 –

Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana (4 August 1923 – 11 July 2013) was a Carnatic musician, a classical vocalist, musicologist, author and teacher, a great administrator and motivator. He was a performer on All India Radio an ...

*1989 – Titte Krishna Iyengar *1990 –

T. V. Sankaranarayanan T. V. Sankaranarayanan, (7 March 1945 – 2 September 2022) was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic vocalist (South Indian classical singer), known for his music that stems from the style of his guru and maternal-uncle, Madurai Mani Iyer. TVS ...

*1991 –

S. Rajam S. Rajam (10 February 1919 – 29 January 2010) was a distinguished Indian Carnatic musician and painter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He was a student of the Carnatic musician Papanasam Sivan and the older brother of Tamil film director and m ...

*1992 – K. R. Kumaraswamy Iyer *1993 – Trichy Swaminathan Iyer *1994 – C. S. Krishna Iyer *1995 –

R. Vedavalli Vidushi R. Vedavalli (born 9th November 1935) is a Carnatic music, Carnatic vocalist. Early life R. Vedavalli was born in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, India to Ramaswami Iyengar and Padmasani Ammal. Career R. Vedavalli's talent for music was identif ...

*1996 –

T. K. Govinda Rao T. K. Govindarao (Tripunithura Krishnarao Govindarao) was the first Malayali film musician and a Carnatic musician (21 April 1929 – 18 September 2011). Earlier life T. K. Govindarao was a proponent of melody. He was born as the son of Tripuni ...

*1997 – M. S. Balasubramanya Sarma *2000 –

S. R. Janakiraman S.R.Janakiraman (born 12 July 1928) is a Carnatic vocalist and a musicologist. He is a recipient of several awards including the Sangita Kala Acharya (The Music Academy), Kalaimamani from the Tamil Nadu Government and the Sangeet Natak Academy ...

*2001 – B. V. Raman *2002 – T. R. Subramaniam *2003 – Trichur V. Ramachandran, M. A. Narasimhachar *2004 – Thiruvengadu A. Jayaraman,

C. Saroja The Bombay sisters, C. Saroja (b. 7 December 1936) and C. Lalitha (b. 26 August 1938), are a Carnatic music singing duo. Early life The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha, were born in Trichur, Kerala to Mukthambal and N. Chidambaram Iyer ...

C. Lalitha The Bombay sisters, C. Saroja (b. 7 December 1936) and C. Lalitha (b. 26 August 1938), are a Carnatic music singing duo. Early life The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha, were born in Trichur, Kerala to Mukthambal and N. Chidambaram Iye ...

*2005 – S. V. Parthasarrathy,

P. S. Narayanaswamy Puliyur Subramaniam Narayanaswamy (or Narayanaswami; 24 February 1934 – 16 October 2020) was a Carnatic music vocalist. Career He learnt music from Tiruppambaram Somasundaram Pillai, T. M. Thiagarajan and later from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer ...

*2006 – D. Pasupathi,

Chingleput Ranganathan Chingleput Ranganathan was a classical Carnatic vocalist and Guru. Early life and background Chingleput Chelappa Ranganathan, was born in Chennai on 3 June 1938 to Sriman Chellappa Iyengar and Srimathi Rajalakshmi. His mother used to be a stu ...

*2007 – B. Krishnamoorti *2008 –

Puranam Purushottama Sastri Puranam Purushottama Sastri (1925–2010) was an eminent Carnatic musician and winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He is son of Puranam Kanakayya Sastri. He was born in Nallapadu in Guntur district in 1925. His father Kanakayya Sastri was al ...

*2009 – Parassala B Ponnammal *2010 –

Suguna Purushothaman Suguna Purushothaman (1941–25 February 2015) was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist, composer and teacher. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Carnatic music vocals in 2010. Suguna was born in Ponvilainthakalathur in Chengalpa ...

, Mysore Nagamani Srinath *2011 – J. Venkataraman *2012 –

O. S. Thyagarajan O. S. Thiagarajan (born 3 April 1947) is a Carnatic Musician based in Chennai. He is the son and disciple of Sangeetha Booshanam O.V.Subrahmanyam. He learnt music from Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. M. Thiagarajan, while Padmabhushan Lalgudi Jayaraman ...

*2013 –

Aruna Sairam Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy (India's premier ...

, D. Seshchari & D. Raghavachari (Hyderabad Brothers) *2014 –

Neyveli Santhanagopalan Neyveli Santhanagopalan (born 1963) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and teacher. He has learned from masters such as Shri Thanjavur Sankara Iyer, Shri Maharajapuram Santhanam, and Shri TN Seshagopalan. He has distinguished himself with numero ...

*2015 – R.N. Tharanathan, Suguna Varadachari, R.N. Thiagarajan *2016 – Neela Ramgopal,

K. Omanakutty Kamalakshi Omanakutty is an academician, music teacher and carnatic vocalist noted for her research and publications in the field of music. Her research on Kathakali music led to her doctorate in this field. She currently serves as professor a ...

*2017 –

M. S. Sheela M S Sheela is a Carnatic classical, light music and devotional singer. She is a AIR and Doordarshan artist in both classical and light music. She was awarded Sangeeta Nataka Academy award by the president of India in the year 2019. Biography M. ...

*2018 – Alamelu Mani,

Malladi Suribabu Malladi Suribabu (born 1 May 1945) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and musician from Vijayawada, India. He was conferred with Kala Ratna, a civilian honor by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2013 and TTK Award by Madras Music Academy in 2014. ...

*2019 –

Charumathi Ramachandran Charumathi Ramachandran (born 12 July 1951) is a Carnatic music singer. She is a disciple of M.L. Vasanthakumari. She was a gold medalist and stood first in music from the Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madr ...

, Pala C. K. Ramachandran *2020 – R. K. Padmanabha, G. Balakrishna Prasad *2021 – Sudha Ragunathan, Radha Namboodiri

Instrumental

=
Clarionet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. T ...

= *1994 –

A. K. C. Natarajan A. K. C. Natarajan (born 30 March 1931) is a carnatic music clarinet player. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2008. He received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1994. He was bestowed with the title ''Nadha Dwee ...

=
Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

= *1954 –

Palladam Sanjiva Rao Palladam Sanjiva Rao (1882–1962) was an Indian flautist and carnatic musician from the state of Tamil Nadu. Personal life Sanjiva Rao was born in 1882 in the town of Palladam near Coimbatore in a Thanjavur Marathi family. Sanjiva Rao learnt m ...

*1961 – T. N. Swaminatha Pillai *1965 – T. R. Mahalingam *1984 – Natesan Ramani *1987 –

T. Viswanathan Tanjore Viswanathan (13 August 1927 – 10 September 2002) was a Carnatic musician specializing in the Carnatic flute and voice. Early life and background Viswa, as T. (Tanjore/Thanjavur) Viswanathan is often called, was born in Madras, In ...

*1989 –

Sikkil Sisters - Kunjumani & Neela Sikkil is an Indian unisex given name that may refer to * Sikkil Sisters – Kunjumani & Neela, Indian flute players *Sikkil Gurucharan (born 1982), Indian Carnatic musician, grandson of Kunjumani & Neela *Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar Sikkil Mala Cha ...

*1997 – Kesi Narayanaswamy *1999–2000 –

T.S Sankaran T. S. Sankaran (1930-2015) was an Indian Carnatic instrumentalist (flute). T S Sankaran was one of the foremost disciples of the legendary 'Flute Mali' - T R Mahalingam. He is the recipient of several awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi A ...

*2004 –

Prapancham Sitaram Prof Dr. Prapancham Sitaram was a Carnatic flautist from the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Prof. Sitaram was a disciple of flautist T.R. Mahalingam and was a top artist in the All India Radio. He served as head of many institutions in Andhra ...

*2017 –

Shashank Subramanyam Shashank Subramanyam (born 14 October 1978) is a flutist from India and specializes in Indian classical music. The Govt. of France awarded the prestigious Knighthood / title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is also th ...

*2019 – Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar

= Ghatam

= *1988 – Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram *1995 – Umayalpuram K. Narayanaswamy *2011 –

E. M. Subramaniam E. M. Subramaniam (died 23 April 2015) was an Indian Carnatic classical percussionist. Subramaniam was instructed in ghatam under the tutelage of his father. He has accompanied master percussionists including mridangam players such as Palghat Man ...

*2014 –

Sukanya Ramgopal Sukanya Ramgopal is an Indian carnatic musician from Tamil Nadu. She is best known as the first woman ghatam player in Carnatic music. She is also proficient in carnatic vocal, violin, mridangam and veena. She received several awards including ...

= Gottuvadhyam

= *1958 – Budaloor Krishnamurthy Shastri *2006 –

N. Ravikiran Narasimhan Ravikiran (born 12 February 1967) is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iye ...

=
Kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic m ...

= *2001 – G. Harishankar

=
Mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

= *2009 –

U. Srinivas Uppalapu Srinivas (28 February 1969 – 19 September 2014) was an Indian mandolin player in Carnatic classical music and composer. Because he was a child prodigy, he was sometimes called the Mozart of classical Indian music. He was awarded the ...

=
Mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

= *1956 –

Palghat Mani Iyer Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are ...

*1975 – C.S. Murugabhupathy *1979 – Kolanka Venkata Raju *1983 –

Palghat R. Raghu Palghat R. Raghu (9 January 1928 – 2 June 2009) was a Carnatic musician and percussionist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2007. Early life Palghat Ramaswamy Raghu was born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanma ...

*1987 –

T. K. Murthy Thanu Krishna Murthy (born 13 August 1924), better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee. Personal life Murthy was born on 13 August 1924, to Thanu Bhagavathar and Annapurn ...

*1990 –

T. V. Gopalakrishnan Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan (born 11 June 1932 in Tripunithura, Kerala), known as TVG, is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Cochin, Kerala, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2014. Earl ...

*1991 –

Vellore G. Ramabhadran Vellore G. Ramabhadran (4 August 1929 – 27 February 2012) was a Mridangam artiste from Tamil Nadu, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2004. Early years Born in Vellore, he showed interest in Carnatic mus ...

*1992 – Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman *1994 – Dandamudi Ram Mohan Rao *1996 –

Guruvayur Dorai Guruvayur Dorai (born 2 July 1935) is an Indian percussionist. He is one of the most senior exponents of the South Indian classical percussion instrument, the mridangam. He had his initial training under Palghat Subba Iyer and E.P. Narayana P ...

*1998 –

Karaikudi Mani Karaikudi Mani (born as Ganapathy Subramanyam on 11 September 1945 in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian percussionist, primarily adept in the mridangam. He is regarded by the vast majority of Carnatic connoisseurs and aficionados as ...

*1999–2000 – V. Kamalakar Rao *2002 – Yella Venkateshwara Rao *2004 –

Madras A. Kannan Madras A. Kannan was a Mridangam exponent from Tamil Nadu, India. Due to his outstanding performances in the field of percussion, he is often called as the ''Mrudanga Samrat'' which literally means "Emperor of Mridangam". He received several awa ...

*2006 –

Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam (or Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam) (born 25 November 1956) is a mridangam Vidwan from a family of traditional musicians in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. He is currently staying in Chennai. Early life He in ...

*2008 –

Mannargudi Easwaran Mannargudi Easwaran ( ta, மன்னார்குடி ஈஸ்வரன்) (born April 1, 1947) is a leading contemporary ''mridangam'' player and Carnatic musician. He was a staff artiste of All India Radio and has received several awa ...

*2009 –

Dandamudi Sumathi Ram Mohan Rao Nidumolu Sumathi (born October 16, 1950), also known as Dandamudi Sumathi is an Indian percussionist, primarily playing the mridangam. She is married to "Mridangam Maestro" Sri Dandamudi Ram Mohan Rao. She is one of the first female mridangam pl ...

*2010 –

Srimushnam V. Raja Rao Srimushnam V. Raja Rao (born 1955) is an Indian mridangam player and Carnatic vocalist. He received his initial training in Mridangam from his father S. Venkataramana Rao. He was later a student of Shri Kumbakonam M Rajappa Iyer. He has also ...

*2012 – K. V. Prasad *2013 –

Trichy Sankaran Trichy Sankaran (born 27 July 1942) is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2011. As a mridangam ''vidwan'', he has been called a "doyen among the percussionis ...

*2016 – J. Vaidhyanathan *2017 – Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan *2019 – Trivandrum V Surendran *2020 –

Patri Satish Kumar Patri Satish Kumar is an Indian Carnatic musician and composer, who is an exponent of the Mridangam, an Indian percussion instrument. He has been conferred with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademy award by the Government of India in the year 20 ...

= Nagaswaram

= *1955 –

T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai Thirumarugal Natesapillai Rajarathinam Pillai (27 August 1898 – 12 December 1956) or TNR was an Indian Carnatic musician, nadaswaram ''maestro'', vocalist and film actor. He was popularly known as "Nadaswara Chakravarthi" (literally, the Empero ...

*1962 – Dr. Thiruvengadu Subramania Pillai *1966 – P. S. Veeruswamy Pillai *1972 – T. S. Natarajasundaram Pillai *1976 –

Sheik Chinna Moulana Sheik Chinna Moulana (12 May 1924, Karavadi Prakasham, Andhra Pradesh – 13 April 1999, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu), popularly known as Sheik, was a legendary nadhaswaram player in the Carnatic tradition. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sa ...

*1981 – Namagiripettai Krishnan *1995 – Domada Chittiabbayi *2005 – Ongale N. Rangaiah *2007 –

S. R. D. Vaidyanathan S. R. D. Vaidyanathan (Tamil: S.R.D. வைத்தியநாதன்; 15 March 1929 − 18 November 2013) was an Indian musician who played the Nadaswaram. Early life and background S. R. D. Vaidyanathan was born in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil ...

*2011 – Seshampatti T Sivalingam *2013 – Thiruvizha Jayashankar *2017 – S.Kasim, S.Babu -

Kasim-Babu Brothers The Kasim-Babu Brothers are the grandsons and disciples of the Nadhaswaram Maestro Dr. Sheik Chinna Moulana. Today, Kasim-Babu are the front ranking Nadhaswaram artists and torch bearers of Chinna Moulana's tradition. Kasim and Babu are noted ...

= Saxophone

= *2003 –

Kadri Gopalnath Kadri Gopalnath (6 December 1949 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music for that instrument. Early life Born in Sajeepa Mooda village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada ...

= Thavil

= *1985 – Valangaiman A. Shanmugasundaram Pillai *1988 –

Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the foremost prominent exponents of thavil also known as dolu, a traditional percussion instrument in Carnatic music, accompanying wind ...

*2001 – Haridwaramangalam A. K. Palanivel *2014 – Thiruvalaputhur T A Kaliyamurthy *2021 – Thanjavur R. Govindarajan

= Veena

= *1952 –

Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer (1888 - 1958) was noted Indian classical musician and Veena player. In 1952, he was amongst the first awardees of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's Nation ...

*1960 – L. Subramanya Sastri *1968 –

K. S. Narayanaswamy K. S. Narayanaswamy, (full name Koduvayur Sivarama Iyer Narayanaswamy; 27 September 1914 – 1999) was a Carnatic veena exponent of the Thanjavur style, in which nuances and subtleties are given more importance over rhythm based acrobatics.

*1969 – Devakottai A. Narayana Iyengar *1970 – Mysore V. Doreswamy Iyengar *1973 – Emani Sankara Sastry *1977 – S. Balachander *1980 – Thanjavur K.P. Sivanandam *1986 –

Rajeswari Padmanabhan Rajeswari Padmanabhan (1939-2008) was a Veena artist from Karnataka, India. Rajeshwari was the ninth generation descendant of the Karaikudi Veena tradition in Carnatic music. She received many awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Ka ...

*1988 –

R. Pichumani Iyer R. Pichumani Iyer (18 May 1920 - 20 June 2015) was a renowned veena vidwan from Tiruchirapalli. He was the winner of the prestigious Kalaimamani award. Hailing from a prominent music family, Pichumani's career started when he was just 10 years old ...

*1990 – Chitti Babu *1992 – M. K. Kalyanakrishna Bhagavathar *1993 – Kalpakam Swaminathan *2001 – R. N. Doreswamy *2002 –

E. Gayathri Echampati Gayathri (née Gayathri Vasantha Shoba), popularly known as "Veena Gayathri"(born 9 November 1959) is a veena exponent of the traditional Carnatic music. She was appointed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J.Jayalalithaa, as the fir ...

*2007 – Vidya Shankar *2011 – Ayyagari Syamasundaram *2017 – Suma Sudhindra *2021 – D. Balakrishnan

= Violin

= *1953 – Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu *1957 –

Tirumakudalu Chowdiah Tirumakudalu Chowdiah ( kn, ಸಂಗೀತ ರತ್ನ ತಿರುಮಕೂಡಲು ಚೌಡಯ್ಯ) (1895 – 19 January 1967) was a violin maestro from India in the Carnatic classical tradition. Early years Chowdiah, was born i ...

*1959 – Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai *1963 – T. K. Jayarama Iyer *1964 – K. N. Chinnaswamy Iyer *1967 – K. S. Venkataramiah 'Papa' *1971 – Madurai S. Subramanya Iyer *1974 –

T. N. Krishnan Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan (6 October 19282 November 2020) was an Indian Carnatic music violinist. Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the Mad ...

*1978 – Lalgudi Jayaraman *1982 –

M. S. Gopalakrishnan M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, (10 June 1931 – 3 January 2013) was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded ...

*1986 –

M. Chandrasekaran Mohanan Chandrasekaran is a Carnatic classical violinist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Calcutta, on 1937 December 11 as the younger of the two sons of T.N. Mohanan and Charubala Mohanan, a violinist herself. He was awarded th ...

*1988 – Chalakudy N. S. Narayanaswamy *1989 – R. K. Venkatarama Sastry *1991 –

Kandadevi S. Alagiriswamy Kandadevi S. Alagiriswamy (1925–2000) was a Carnatic violinist. Early life He was born on April 21, 1925, in the village of Kandadevi near Devakottai, Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu to Sundararaja Iyengar and Alimelu Ammal. He initially ha ...

*1993 – Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan *1996 – Annavarapu Ramaswamy *1997 – T. Rukmini *1998 – M. S. Anantharaman *1999–2000 –

R. R. Keshavamurthy RR Keshavamurthy (1913-2006) was an Indian violinist. RRK, as he was popularly known specialised in the seven-stringed violin. RRK was a student of Bidaram Krishnappa, the guru of the violinist Mysore T. Chowdiah. He was a said to be a legend o ...

*2003 –

A. Kanyakumari Avasarala Kanyakumari is a violinist from South India who specializes in Carnatic music. Career Kanyakumari is a native of Vijayanagaram, Andhra Pradesh and has lived in Chennai for more than five decades. Awards and honours A Kanyakumari ...

*2005 – V. V. Subrahmanyam *2008 –

B. Sasikumar B. Sasikumar is a noted Carnatic music violinist, musician, teacher, composer and writer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Profile B. Sasikumar was born on 27 April 1949 in Thiruvalla, to M. K. Bhaskara Panicker and G. Sarojini Amma. ...

*2010 –

Nagai Muralidharan Nagai Muralidharan (born 4 December 1958 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu) is a Carnatic music, Carnatic violinist from India. He was awarded Kalaimamani#2003, Kalaimamani by the State Government of Tamil Nadu in 2003. Musical career Muralidharan initi ...

*2012 – Mysore M. Nagaraja *2014 – Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao *2015 – Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan *2016 – Mysore Manjunath *2018 – Ganesh and Kumaresh *2020 – M. A. Sundareswaran

Creative and experimental music

*1973 – Vishnudas Shirali *1976 – Timir Baran Bhattacharya *1978 –

Rai Chand Boral Rai Chand Boral (19 October 1903 – 25 November 1981) was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Ind ...

*1982 –

Vijay Raghav Rao Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao (born Vijaya Raghava Rao; 3 November 1925 – 30 November 2011) was an Indian flutist, composer, choreographer, musicologist, poet and fiction writer. He was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 1970, and in 19 ...

*1983 – Chidambaram S. Jayaraman *1986 – Anil Biswas *1986 – M. B. Srinivasan *1986 – Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay *1988 –

Bhaskar Chandavarkar Bhaskar Chandavarkar (16 March 1936 – 26 July 2009) was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol P ...

*1989 – Vanraj Bhatia *1990 –

L. Subramaniam Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music. Early years Subramaniam was born in Madras, Madras Presidency, Br ...

*1994 – V. Balsara *1995 – Atul Desai *1997 – Satish Bhatia *1998 – Vishwa Mohan Bhatt *2001 – S. Rajaram *2002 –

K. P. Udayabhanu K. P. Udayabhanu (born Bhanuprakash; 6 June 1936 5 January 2014) was an Indian playback singer and music director, mainly in Malayalam films. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Personal life Uday ...

*2007 – Khayyam *2012 –

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

*2020 – Bickram Ghosh

Folk music

*2022 – Mahavir Nayak

Other major traditions of music

*2008 – Ningombam Ibobi Singh ( Nata Sankirtana, Manipur) *2009 – L. Ibohalmacha Singh (Nata Sankirtana, Manipur) *2010 – M.V. Simhachala Sastry (

Harikatha ''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu and Tamil (), is a form of Hindu tradition ...

, Tirupathi) *2011 – Gopal Chandra Panda (Odissi Music) *2012 – Bhai Balbir Singh Ragi ( Gurbani) *2013 – Bankim Sethi (Odissi Music) *2018 –

Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...

(Sugam Sangeet),

Shanti Hiranand Shanti Hiranand (Hindi : शान्ती हीरानंद) (1932 – 10 April 2020) was an Indian vocalist, classical musician and writer, known for her proficiency as a ghazal singer. She was the author of the book ''Begum Akhtar: The S ...

(Sugam Sangeet), H. Ashangbi Devi (Nata Sankirtana, Manipur) *2019 – O. S. Arun (Sugam Sangeet),

Sharma Bandhu Sharma Bandhu (Sharma Brothers) ( hi, शर्मा बन्धु) refers to four Indian classical music, Indian classical vocalist brothers, who perform bhajan and Hindu devotional music. They were born in the music family of Pandit Jyoti Pr ...

(Sugam Sangeet), D. Uma Maheshwari (Harikatha) *2020 – Anup Jalota (Sugam Sangeet), N. Irabot Singh (Nata Sankirtana) *2021 – Susmita Das (Sugam Sangeet), H. R. Leelavathi (Sugam Sangeet), Kumud Diwan (Thumri)

Dance

Bharatanatyam

*1955 –

T. Balasaraswati Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati (13 May 1918 – 9 February 1984), was an Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of d ...

*1957 –

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

*1959 – Mylapore Gouri Amma *1962 – R. Muthurathnambal *1965 – P. Chockkalingam Pillai *1966 –

Vazhuvoor B. Ramiah Pillai Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai (1910–1991) was an Indian Bharatanatyam dance teacher and choreographer. Early life Vazhuvoor Bagyathammal Ramaiah Pillai was born in 1910 to Parthiban and Bagyathammal in Vazhuvoor. He learned the arts of Nattuva ...

, Swarnasaraswathi *1968 –

Kamala Kamala refers to: People * Kamala (name), given name and surname, includes list of people and characters with the name ** Kamala Harris, the 49th and current Vice President of the United States * Kamala (wrestler) (1950–2020), American profess ...

*1969 – T. K. Swaminatha Pillai *1970 – Shanta Rao *1971 – T. Chandrakanthamma *1972 – Sikkil Ramaswami Pillai *1973 – Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi *1974 –

K. P. Kittappa Pillai K. P. Kittappa Pillai (5 May 1913 – 1999) was the son of Sangita Kalanidhi K. Ponniah Pillai (1888-1945), a scion of the famous Tanjore Quartet, codifiers of the Bharatanatyam format. Personal life Kittappa Pillai and his brothers were born ...

*1976 – M. Muthiah Pillai *1977 – Yamini Krishnamurthy *1979 – Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai *1981 –

Indrani Rahman Indrani Rahman (19 September 1930, Chennai – 5 February 1999, New York) was an Indian classical dancer of Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Odissi, which she popularised in the west, and later settled in New York in 1976. In 1952, ...

*1982 – Vyjayanthimala *1983 –

Padma Subramanyam Padma Subrahmanyam (born 4 February 1943, in Madras), is an Indian classical Bharata Natyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and docume ...

*1984 – Subramaniam Sarada, Sudharani Raghupathy *1985 – T. K. Mahalingam Pillai *1986 – Krishnaveni Lakshmanan *1987 – U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi, Chitra Viswaswaran *1989 – V. S. Muthuswamy Pillai *1990 –

Kalanidhi Narayanan Kalanidhi Narayanan (7 December 1928 – 21 February 2016) was an Indian dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in the 1930s and 194 ...

*1991 –

Adyar K. Lakshman Adyar K. Lakshman (16 December 1933 – 19 August 2014) was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru. Early life Born on 16 December 1933, Adyar K. Lakshman hails from Kuppam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. His fath ...

*1992 – K. J. Sarasa *1993 �
Guru Kubernath Tanjorkar(Tanjavurkar)

C. V. Chandrasekhar C. V. Chandrasekhar (born 22 May 1935) is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, academician, dance scholar, composer, and choreographer. He retired as Head of the Faculty of Performing Arts of M.S. University, Baroda in 1992. Professor Chandrashe ...

*1994 – V. P. Dhananjayan and

Shanta Dhananjayan Vannadil Pudiyaveettil Dhananjayan (born 17 April 1939) and Shanta Dhananjayan (born 12 August 1943), also known as the Dhananjayans, are a dancing couple in India who were awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2009. Personal life V.P Dhananjayan was ...

*1995 –

M. K. Saroja Madras Kadiravelu Saroja (7 April 1931 – 13 June 2022), known as Puliyur Saroja, was an Indian classical dancer, known for her expertise, as an exponent and as a teacher, in the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. The Government of India h ...

, Indira Rajan *1996 – Sarada Hoffman *1997 –

Kanaka Srinivasan Kanaka Srinivasan is an Indian classical dancer and one of the leading exponents of the classical dance form of Bharat Natyam. She is a disciple of Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiyah Pillai and is aligned with Vazhuvur tradition of the dance form. She is a ...

*1998 – Lakshmi Viswanathan *1999–2000 – K. Kalyanasundaram Pillai,

Leela Samson Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi f ...

H. R. Keshava Murthy H. R. Keshava Murthy (22 February 1934 – 21 December 2022) was an Indian gamaka exponent and guru. He was honoured with Shantala Natya Sri Award by the Government of Karnataka in 1998 and Padma Shri in 2022 by the Government of India in the ...

*2001 –

Alarmel Valli Alarmel Valli is a leading Indian classical dancer and choreographer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style in the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam. She is widely acclaimed for her ability to turn traditional grammar in ...

, Pratibha Prahlad *2002 –

Malavika Sarukkai Malavika Sarukkai is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer specializing in Bharatanatyam. A 2002 winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian ci ...

*2003 – C. K. Balagopalan *2004 – Nirmala Ramachandran *2005 – R. Rhadha *2006 – S. Narmada *2007 –

Sucheta Bhide Chapekar Sucheta Bhide Chapekar (born 6 December 1948) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She is an exponent of Bharatnatyam. She is the founder of "Kalavardhini", a trust supporting the teaching and propagation activities in classical da ...

*2008 –

Saroja Vaidyanathan Saroja Vaidyanathan (born 19 September 1937) is a choreographer, guru and a notable exponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India. Early life and education Saroj ...

*2009 – Ananda Shankar Jayant *2011 – Narthaki Natraj (First Transgender to receive SN Akademi Award) *2012 – Priyadarsini Govind *2013 – Jamuna Krishnan, B. Herabhanathan *2014 – Adayar Janardanan *2015 – Ranganayaki Jayaraman *2016 –

Geeta Chandran Geeta Chandran is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and vocalist. Trained in Carnatic music, she is a visionary and celebrated artist in Indian classical Bharatanatyam, recognized for her work in theatre, dance, education, videos and films. Caree ...

*2017 –

Rama Vaidyanathan Rama Vaidyanathan is an Indian bharatnatyam artist from Delhi. She is one of the directors of Ganesha Natyalaya, one of the best Bharatanatyam institutes of the country. She has toured the country and the world, performing and showcasing her ar ...

*2018 – Radha Sridhar *2019 –

Vasundhara Doraswamy Vasundhara Doraswamy (born 1949) is the founder and director of Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre, Mysore (India). She is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and guru (teacher). She is also one of the disciples of the late K. Pattabhi Jois, Sh ...

*2020 –

Meenakshi Chitharanjan Meenakshi Chitharanjan, an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, is known as an exponent of the Pandanallur style of the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. She is the founder of ''Kaladiksha'', an institution promoting Bharata ...

*2021 – Jayalakshmi Eshwar

Chhau

*1963 – Sudhendra Narayan Singh Deo (Seraikella) *1971 – Ananta Charan Sai (Mayurbhanj) *1975 – Krishna Chandra Naik (Mayurbhanj) *1981 –

Kedar Nath Sahoo Kedar Nath Sahoo was an Indian classical dancer, known as one of the leading exponents of the Seraikella tradition of Chhau dance. He served as the founder director of the ''Government Chhau Dance Centre'' (Chhau Nritya Kala Kendra) of the Gov ...

(Seraikella) *1982 –

Gambhir Singh Mura Gambhir Singh Mura (1930 – 9 November 2002) was an Indian tribal dancer known for his contributions to the tribal martial dance of Chhau. He was an exponent of the Purulia school of Chhau. Mura was born in a tribal family to Jipa Singh M ...

(Purulia) *1987 – Madan Mohan Lenka (Mayurbhanj) *1988 – Srihari Nayak (Mayurbhanj) *1990 – Bikram Kumbhakar (Seraikella) *1991 – Chandra Sekhar Bhanj (Mayurbhanj) *2004 –

Shashadhar Acharya Shashadhar Acharya (born 1961) is a Chhau dance exponent from Saraikela, Jharkhand, India. In 2020, he received the Padma Shri honour from the Government of India for his contribution in the field of Arts. Life Acharya is a fifth-generation d ...

*2012 – Jai Narayan Samal *2014 – Jagru Mahato *2015 – Sadashiva Pradhan *2016 – Gopal Prasad Dubey *2017 – Janmajay Saibabu *2018 – Tapan Kumar Pattanayak (Seraikella) *2019 – Brajendra Kumar Pattnaik *2020 – Trilochan Mohanta *2021 – Bhuvan Kumar

Creative dance/Choreography

*1960 – Uday Shankar *1970 – Mrinalini Sarabhai *1976 –

Narendra Sharma Pandit Narendra Sharma (28 February 1913 – 12 February 1989) was an Indian writer, poet and lyricist in Hindi language. He also wrote some songs for Indian Hindi cinema, like the title song for ''Satyam Shivam Sundaram'' (1979), for which he ...

*1979 – Prabhat Ganguli *1980 – R. K. Priyagopal Sana *1981 – Parvati Kumar *1984 –

Rajkumar Singhajit Singh Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, (born 1 May 1935) is a leading exponent, choreographer and a guru of Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, including the Pung cholom and Raslila. He was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984 an ...

*1989 –

Maya Rao Maya Rao (2 May 1928 – 1 September 2014) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in Kathak dance. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kath ...

*1991 – Chandralekha *1992 – Sachin Shankar *1993 – Manjusri Chaki Sircar *1995 –

Astad Deboo Astad Deboo (13 July 194710 December 2020) was an Indian contemporary dancer and choreographer. He was considered a pioneer of modern dance in India. Through his career he collaborated with artists including Pina Bausch, Alison Becker Chase a ...

*1999–2000

Mallika Sarabhai Mallika Sarabhai (born 9 May 1954) is an activist and Indian classical dancer and actress from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Daughter of a classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchipu ...

*2001 –

Gul Bardhan Gul Bardhan (1928 – 29 November 2010) was a choreographer and theatre personality based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. She was associated with the Indian People's Theatre Association. She was the co-founder of the Little Ballet Troupe ...

*2002 – Sambhu Bhattacharya *2005 – Th. Chaotombi Singh *2006 – Gorima Hazarika *2008 – Yogsunder Desai *2009 – Daksha Sheth *2010 – Uttara Asha Coorlawala *2011 –

Tanushree Shankar Tanushree Shankar (born 16 March 1956) is an Indian dancer and choreographer. She is based in Kolkata, India. She was a leading dancer of the Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts in the 1970s and 1980s. She also acted in various films, ...

*2014 – Navtej Singh Johar *2015 – W. Lokendrajit Singh *2016 – Anita Ratnam *2018 – Deepak Mazumdar *2019 – Mamata Shankar *2020 – Bhushan Lakhandri

Kathak

*1955 – Shambhu Maharaj *1957 – Baijnath Prasad "

Lacchu Maharaj Pandit Bajinath Prasad also known as Pandit Lachhu Maharaj (1901–1978) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Kathak dance. He came from a family of illustrious Kathak exponents in Lucknow, and also worked as film choreographer, ...

" *1959 – Sunder Prasad *1962 –

Mohanrao Kallianpurkar Mohanrao Shankarrao Kallianpurkar (; 12 August 1913 – 1 December 1985) was a Kathak dancer and teacher from Karnataka, considered to be one of the greatest scholars and teacher of Kathak dance form. He belongs to Jaipur school of Kathak. Bio ...

*1964 – Birju Maharaj *1968 –

Damayanti Joshi Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted renowned exponent of the Kathak dance form.She believed Kathak is the art of storytelling. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many pa ...

*1969 – Sitara Devi *1974 – Gauri Shankar Devilal Kathak *1975 – Roshan Kumari *1979 –

Rohini Bhate Rohini Bhate (Marathi: रोहिणी भाटे) (14 November 1924 – 10 October 2008) was among the senior most Kathak dance exponents in India, who developed as a performer, teacher, writer, researcher and critic this Indian classical ...

*1982 – Kartik Ram,

Kumudini Lakhia Kumudini Lakhia (born 17 May 1930) is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967. A pioneer in contemporary Kathak d ...

*1984 –

Durga Lal Pandit Durga Lal (1948 - 21 January 1990) was a renowned Kathak dancer of the Jaipur Gharana. He was born in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the main role in the 1989 dance drama ''Ghanashyam'', the music of which was composed by ...

*1987 –

Uma Sharma Uma Sharma (born 1942) is a kathak dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is also runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, Delhi, a classical dance and music academy, situated in New Delhi, founded by her father in 1946. She is most known for reviving ...

*1991 – Reba Vidyarthi *1995 – Ramlal Bareth *1996 –

Rani Karnaa ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

*1998 – Sunderlal Sathyanarayan Gangani *1999–2000 –

Shovana Narayan Shovana Narayan is a recognised Indian Kathak dancer and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She performs in India and internationally, and has been awarded the Padma Shri. She trained under Birju Maharaj. Early life and ...

*2000 – Surendra Saikia *2002 –

Rajendra Gangani Rajendra Gangani is an Indian Kathak dancer known for his innovative style and technical wizardry. Gangani is one of the leading exponents of the Jaipur Gharana style of Kathak. For his contributions to the field of Kathak, Gangani received the ...

*2003 – Sunayana Hazarilal Agarwal, Urmila Nagar *2004 – Saswati Sen *2005 – Tirath Ram Azad *2006 – Munna Shukla *2007 –

Geetanjali Lal Geetanjali Lal (born Geetanjali Desai; 6 Nov 1948) is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer. Early life and education Geetanjali Lal received formal training in Hindustani Classical music by her father, Rajnikant Desai – a well-known voc ...

*2008 – Shashi Sankhla *2009 – Prerana Shrimali *2010 – Malabika Mitra *2011 – Manjushree Chatterjee *2012 – Vijay Shankar *2013 – Rajashree Shirke *2014 – Uma Dogra *2016 – Jitendra Maharaj *2017 – Shobha Koser *2018 – Maulik Shah, Ishira Parikh *2019 – Raghav Raj Bhatt &

Mangala Bhatt Mangala Bhatt is a Kathak dance exponent. She is the senior disciple of Kathak maestro Pt. Durga Lal Ji of Jaipur Gharana. She has performed at many festivals in India. She is also the founding director of Aakruti Kathak Kendra. Early life ...

*2020 – Kumkum Dhar *2021 –

Shama Bhate Guru Shama Bhate (Marathi: शमा भाटे)(born 6 October 1950) also known as Shama Tai, is among the Kathak exponents in India today. Her career spans over 40 years and she has been learning and performing Kathak from the age of 4 and ...

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

*1956 –

Guru Kunchu Kurup Guru Kunju Kurup (1881–1970) was a Kathakali dancer from south Kerala, India. Life Born in a Poypallilkulam family of Thakazhi village of Kuttanad in present-day Alappuzha district, Kurup was initiated into Kathakali at the age of 13 by hi ...

*1958 – Thotton K. Chandu Panikkar *1961 – Thekinkatti Ramunni Nair *1963 –

Chenganoor Raman Pillai Guru Chenganoor Raman Pillai, also spelt Chengannur Raman Pillai (1886–1980), was a celebrated Kathakali artist from Kerala in south India. He was known for his brilliant portrayal of the anti-heroic Kathi roles on stage, and was the head of ...

*1965 – Guru Gopinath *1967 – Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair *1968 – Kurichi Kunjan Panickar *1969 –

Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, also spelt Kunju Nair, (1909-1981) was an Indian Kathakali dancer. Life He mainly served in PSV Natya Sangham, Kottakkal, since 1946, and from 1960 to 1972 at Kerala Kalamandalam. He was the first principal of Kerala Kala ...

*1970 – M. Vishnu Namboodiri *1971 – Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair *1972 – M. Madhava Panicker *1973 – Velinezhi K. Nanu Nayar *1973 – Kavungal Chathunni Panicker *1974 – Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair *1975 – K. Sankarankutty Panicker *1983 – Champakulam Pachu Pillai *1985 –

Mankompu Sivasankara Pillai Mankompu Sivasankara Pillai, of Kerala in south India, was a Kathakali artist of the classical dance-drama's southern style. Noted for his consummate depiction of pachcha, kathi and minukku roles, he is a disciple of Chenganoor Raman Pillai. Bo ...

*1987 – Kalamandalam Gopi *1988 –

Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair (1916–2007) was a Kathakali artists from Kerala, India. Endowed and equip with a life profile that also show him to several traditional Indian performing arts other than Kathakali, his stage presentation infused a fres ...

*1989 – Oyoor Kochugovinda Pillai *1991 – Chennithala Chellapan Pillai *1993 –

Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair (1928–2007) was an eminent Kathakali exponent, equally known for his capacities as a tutor, theoretician and author of a few authentic texts on the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. A son of the ...

*1996 – Kottakkal Krishnan Kutty Nair *1997 –

Madavoor Vasudevan Nair Madavoor Vasudevan Nair (7 April 1929 alattukavu, vallikeezhu, kollam, (Kerala) – 6 February 2018) was a veteran Kathakali artiste. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He taught the Kaplingadan style of Kathakali pe ...

*1998 –

Kottakkal Sivaraman Kottakkal Sivaraman (1936 – 19 July 2010) was a performing artiste who revolutionised the portrayal of female roles in Kathakali, the classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India. Career Kathakali, being a largely masculine dance form w ...

*1999–2000 – Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri *2003 – Sadanam P. V. Balakrishnan *2004 –

Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody (15 August 1943 – 1 December 2022) was an Indian Kathakali actor known for his classical dance-drama of Kerala. A frontline disciple of Padma Shri Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, he exceled in virtuous , anti-hero Kathi ...

*2005 –

Mathoor Govindan Kutty Mathoor Govindan Kutty (5 October 19404 February 2021) was an Indian Kathakali artist from the state of Kerala. In a career spanning over six decades, he specialized in ''Kathakali Stri Vesham,'' the portrayal of female characters on stage. He wa ...

*2006 – Kottakkal Chandrasekharan *2007 –

Sadanam Krishnankutty Sadanam Krishnankutty (born Cherpulassery, 1941) is a performer of Kathakali, a classical dance-drama form of Kerala, South India. A recipient of Kerala State Kathakali award and Kalamandalam fellowship, he has donned a wide range of character ...

*2008 –

Kalamandalam Kuttan Kalamandalam Kuttan Asan (also spelled as Kalamandalam Kuttanasan, 1938 – 13 January 2022) was an Indian Kathakali artiste from Kerala. He was known as Dakshan Kuttan as he was popular in the role of Daksha. He received awards including the Sa ...

*2009 –

Kalamandalam Rajan Kalamandalam Rajan was a Kathakali exponent from Kerala, India. He has been honored with several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2009, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja award 2006 and awards from Kerala Kalamandala ...

*2010 – Kalamandalam K. G. Vasudevan *2011 –

Thonnakkal Peethambaran Tonnakkal Peethambaran is a Kathakali exponent from Kerala, India. He has been honored with several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2011, Kerala state Kathakali award 2014 and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award 2003. Bi ...

*2012 – Vazhengada Vijayan *2013 – Kalamandalam M. P. S. Namboodiri *2015 – K. Kunhiraman Nair *2016 –

Kalamandalam Ramachandran Unnithan Kalamandalam Ramachandran Unnithan is a Kathakali exponent from Kerala, India. He received several awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2016. His biography titled ''Kachaiyum Mizhukkum'' was published in 2015. Biography Ramachandran ...

*2017 –

Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri is a Kathakali musician from Kerala, India. He received several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala State Kathakali Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kerala Kalamandalam A ...

*2019 – Kottakkal Nandakumaran Nair *2021 – Inchakkattu Ramachandran Pillai

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

*1961 – Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma ‘Satyam’ *1968 – Chinta Krishnamurthy *1978 – C. Ramacharyalu *1981 – Vempati Chinna Satyam *1983 – Nataraja Ramakrishna (also Bharatanatyam) *1985 – Vedantam Prahlada Sarma *1987 – Pasumarthi Venugopala Krishna Sarma *1990 –

Shobha Naidu Sobha Naidu (1956 – 14 October 2020) was among the foremost Kuchipudi dancers of India and a disciple of the renowned master Vempati Chinna Satyam. She mastered the technique of Kuchipudi and began dancing lead roles in dance-dramas at a you ...

*1991 – Raja Reddy and Radha Reddy *1993 – Josyula Seetharamaiah *1994 – Vedantam Parvateesam *1998 – Veernala Jayarama Rao and Banashree Rao *1999–2000 – Swapnasundari Rao *2003 – K. Uma Rama Rao *2004 – Pasumarthi Seetha Ramiah *2005 – Korada Narasimha Rao *2006 – Pasumarthi Rathiah Sarma *2007 – Yelesarapu Nageswara Sarma *2008 – Vasanta Lakshmi and Narasimhachari *2009 – Vyjayanthi Kashi *2010 – Ratna Kumar *2011 – Alekhya Punjala *2012 –

Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry is an Indian classical dancer in Kuchipudi. He won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012 for his research on Kuchipudi dance form. He is the Principal of Siddhendra Yogi Kuchipudi Kalapeetham. References {{DEFAUL ...

*2013 – Chinta Seetha Ramanjaneyulu *2014 – Vedantam Radhesyam *2015 –

Gaddam Padmaja Reddy Gaddam Padmaja Reddy (born 1 January 1967) is an Indian Kuchipudi exponent and music teacher. She performs ballets on mythological themes and contemporary social issues. She choreographed ''Kakatiyam'', a Kuchipudi visual dance form. She was ...

*2016 – A B Bala Kondala Rao *2017 – Deepika Reddy *2018 – Pasumurthy Ramalinga Sastry *2019 – Manju Barggavee *2020 – Pasumarthy Vithal and Bharathi Vithal *2021 – N. Sailaja

Manipuri

*1956 –

Maisnam Amubi Singh Maisnam Amubi Singh was an exponent of the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, and the founding supervisor of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Academy. Singh, who was credited with pioneering solo dance in Manipuri, was the first winn ...

*1958 – Haobam Atomba Singh *1961 – T. Amudon Sharma *1963 – Atombapu Sharma *1965 – Guru Bipin Singh *1969 – Ojha Thangjam Chaoba Singh *1972 – Kshetri Tombi Devi *1973 – L. Koireng Singh *1974 – L. Ibemhal Devi *1975 – Rajani Maibi *1976 – Ojha Maibam Ibungohal Singh *1977 – Nayana Susheel Jhaveri *1980 – L. Thouranishabi Devi *1982 – L. Tombi Devi *1985 – Khaidem Lokeshwar Singh *1987 – Tarun Kumar Singh *1988 – Ibopishak Sharma *1990 – Th. Babu Singh *1993 – H. Ngangbi Devi *1994 – T. Nadia Singh *1995 – L. Thambalngoubi Devi *1996 –

Darshana Jhaveri Darshana Jhaveri (born 1940), the youngest of the four ''Jhaveri sisters'', is a leading Indian exponent of Manipuri dance, an Indian classical dance, Indian classical dance form. She is a disciple of Guru Bipin Singh, and started performing on ...

*1997 – Samanduram Tondon Devi *1998 – N. Madhabi Devi *1999–2000 – Sorokhaibam Naran Singh *2001 – Charu Sija Mathur *2002 – K. Ongbi Leipaklotpi Devi *2003 – Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi, Kalavati Devi *2005 – K. Radhamohon Sharma *2009 – L. Bino Devi *2010 – Phanjoubam Iboton Singh *2011 – Priti Patel *2014 – N. Amusana Devi *2016 – Maisnam Kaminikumar Singh *2017 – L.N. Oinam Ongdi Doni Devi *2018 – Akham Lakshmi Devi *2020 – Sruti Bandopadhay *2021 – Thokchom Ibemubi Devi

Mohiniattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

*1972 – T. Chinnammu Amma *1978 –

Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma Kalamandalam Kallyanikutty Amma (1915 – 1999) was an epoch-making Mohiniyattam danseuse from Kerala in southern India. A native of Thirunavaya in Malappuram district of the state, she was instrumental in resurrecting Mohiniyattam from a dismal, ...

*1994 –

Kalamandalam Satyabhama Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama (4 November 1937 – 13 September 2015) was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributi ...

*1998 –

Kalamandalam Kshemavathy Kalamandalam Kshemavathy (born 1948) is a Mohiniyattam dancer from Thrissur, Kerala. She is an alumna of the Kerala Kalamandalam. She joined the institute when she was ten. After completion of the course, she undertook advanced training in Bha ...

*1999–2000 –

Bharati Shivaji Bharati Shivaji is an Indian classical dancer of Mohiniyattom, choreographer and author, known for her contributions to the art form by way of performance, research and propagation. She is the founder of '' Center for Mohiniyattam'', a dance aca ...

*2004 –

Kalamandalam Sugandhi Kalamandalam Sugandhi is a Mohiniyattam dancer, choreographer and dance teacher from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fello ...

*2006 – Kalamandalam Vimala Menon *2007 –

Deepti Omchery Bhalla Deepti Omchery Bhalla (born 1957) is a professor in Carnatic Music at the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi, and a Mohiniyattam dancer. Education Bhalla was born in Delhi in 1957. She was trained in dancing and singing by her ...

*2008 – Kalamandalam Leelamma *2011 – V. K. Hymavathy *2015 – Mandakini Trivedi *2018 –

Gopika Varma Gopika Varma is a Kerala born Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher who is settled in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kalaimamani. Biography ...

*2019 – Nirmala Paniker *2021 –

Neena Prasad Neena Prasad is an Indian dancer. She is an exponent in the field of Mohiniyattam. She is the founder and principal of Bharthanjali Academy of Indian Dances in Thiruvananthapuram and Sougandika Centre for Mohinyattam in Chennai. Early life and ...

Odissi

*1966 – Kelucharan Mohapatra *1970 – Pankaj Charan Das *1976 –

Sanjukta Panigrahi Sanjukta Panigrahi (24 August 1944 – 24 June 1997) was a dancer from India, who was the foremost exponent of Indian classical dance Odissi. Sanjukta was the first Odia woman to embrace this ancient classical dance at an early age and ensure ...

(joint award with Raghunath Panigrahi for Odissi music) *1977 –

Deba Prasad Das Deba Prasad Das was an Indian classical dancer, considered by critics and connoisseurs as one of the four first generation gurus of the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. His Odissi style is robust and unique. He was a recipient of the 1977 ...

*1985 – Mayadhar Raut *1986 –

Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi is a scientist, academician and an Indian classical dancer of Odissi, art writer, and a biologist.. Born on 18 November 1939, she secured a master's degree and subsequently, obtained a doctoral degree in zoology from th ...

*1987 –

Sonal Mansingh Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an Indian classical dancer and Guru Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style. She has been nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the youngest recipient of ...

*1992 – D. N. Pattnaik *1994 –

Kumkum Mohanty Kumkum Mohanty (born 10 September 1946) is an Odissi dancer. Mohanty was born at Cuttack. She received training from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra at Kala Vikash Kendra. She is recognised for '' abhinaya''. She has worked as the special secretary ...

*1995 – Raghunath Dutta *1997 – Gangadhar Pradhan *1999–2000 –

Minati Mishra Minati Mishra (1929 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian classical dancer and actress, known for her expertise in the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. She was reported in 2011 to be the oldest-living Odissi performer. The Government of India ...

, Madhavi Mudgal *2002 – Kiran Segal *2003 – Hare Krishna Behera *2004 – Durllav Chandra Singh *2005 – Durga Charan Ranbir *2006 –

Surendra Nath Jena Surendra Nath Jena (10 October 1924 – 8 October 2007) was an Odissi dancer. His dance style incorporates the various aspects of Indian culture, such as temple sculpture, ancient dance, Sanskrit and vernacular literature, yoga, tradition ...

*2007 –

Ranjana Gauhar Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar is an Odissi dancer. She won the Padma Shree in 2003 and with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performi ...

*2008 – Ramani Ranjan Jena *2009 –

Geeta Mahalik Geeta Mahalik (born 1948)"Odissi"
Sangeetnatak.com< ...

*2010 –

Aruna Mohanty Aruna Mohanty (born April 4, 1960) is an Odissi dancer, choreographer and guru. She is currently the Secretary of the Orissa (Odisha) Dance Academy. She has received a number of awards for her work, including the Padmashree award. Training ...

*2011 – Ramli Ibrahim *2012 –

Sharmila Biswas Sharmila Biswas is a noted Indian classical dancer and choreographer in the Odissi, and a disciple of guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. In 1995, she established Odissi Vision and Movement Center in Kolkata, where she is the Artistic Director, the cen ...

*2013 – Sangeeta Dash *2014 – Sudhakar Sahoo *2015 – Aloka Kanungo *2016 –

Ratikant Mohapatra Ratikant Mohapatra is a dancer, percussionist, Guru, and Choreographer and archivist of Odissi. Under the direction and choreography of Ratikant Mohapatra, 555 Odissi dancers, a large number of them belonging to foreign countries, performed in u ...

*2017 – Sujata Mohapatra *2018 – Surupa Sen *2019 – Sutapa Talukdar *2020 – Rabindra Atibudhi

Sattriya

*1963 – Maniram Datta Moktar *1978 – Bapuram Bayan Attai *1980 – Roseshwar Saikia Bayan Moktar *1996 –

Indira P. P. Bora Indira P. P. Bora is a Satriya dancer from Assam, India. Trained in Bharatnatyam for 13 years under Guru Rukmini Devi Arundale and in Kuchipudi under the guidance of Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam. Bora has promoted and performed Satriya in New Z ...

*1998 – Pradip Chaliha *1999–2000 – Parmanand Borbayan *2001 – Ghanakanta Bora *2004 – Jatin Goswami *2007 – Ganakanta Dutta Borbayan *2010 – Manik Borbayan *2013 – Jogen Dutta Bayan *2014 – Anita Sharma *2015 – Sarodi Saikia *2016 – Haricharan Bhuyan Borbayan *2017 – Ramkrishna Talukdar *2018 – Tankeswar Hazarika Borbayan *2019 – Ranjumoni Saikia

Other major traditions of dance and dance theatre

*2007 –

Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri is an Indian classical theatre performer, the first person from outside chakyar community to practice Koodiyattam, from Kerala. He was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2012, for his contributions to the art of Koodiyattam, ...

(Kutiyattam) *2009 – Kala Krishna (Andhranatyam) *2010 – Painkulam Rama Chakyar (Kutiyattam) *2012 – Painkulam Damodara Chakyar (Kutiyattam) *2013 – Srinivasa Rangachariar (Arayer Sevai) *2021 – Kalamandalam Girija (Kutiyattam)

Music for dance

*2005 – Josyula Krishna Murthy (Kuchipudi Bhagavatha Maddalla) *2006 – Kalamandalam Gangadharan (Kathakali Pattu) *2008 – Ramhari Das (Odissi) *2010 – S. Rajeswari (Bharatanatyam) *2011 – Karaikudi Krishnamurthi *2012 – Jwala Prasad *2013 – Dhaneshwar Swain *2014 – Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri (Kathakali) *2015 – Rajkumar Bharathi *2017 – Ashit Desai *2020 – Prema Ramamurthy, Arambam Tombinou Devi *2021 – Bijay Kumar Jena

Folk and Tribal dance

*2017 –

Mukund Nayak Mukund Nayak (born 15 October 1949), is an Indian artist. He is a folk singer, songwriter and dancer. Nayak is an exponent of Nagpuri folk dance Jhumar. He is recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Early life and family H ...

Theatre

Acting

From 1952–2003 (language-wise)

= Assamese

= *1961 – Mitradev Mahanta Adhikari *2001 – Girish Chowdhury

= Bengali theatre

= *1958 –

Ahindra Choudhury Ahindra Choudhury (1896-1974) was an Indian actor, director, theatre personality and the co-founder of ''Photo Play Syndicate'', a Kolkata-based art organization for bioscope shows. A winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1958, Choudhury ...

*1962 –

Tripti Mitra Tripti Mitra (''née'' Bahaduri; 25 October 1925 – 24 May 1989) was a popular Indian actress of Bengali theatre and films, and wife of Sombhu Mitra, noted theatre director, with whom she co-founded pioneering theatre group ''Bohurupee'' in 19 ...

*1967 – Sabitabrata Dutta *1970 – Saraju Bala Devi *1973 –

Shobha Sen Shobha Sen (17 September 1923 – 13 August 2017) (also known as Sova Sen) was Bengali theatre and film actress.Anit Mukerjea (28 June 2004)"A Woman of Grit"Asia Africa Intelligence Wire (From The Statesman (India)) Career After graduating from ...

*1975 – Molina Devi *1977 – Krishna Roy *1983 –

Kumar Roy Kumar Roy (1926–2010) was a Bengali theatre actor, director and playwright. In 1983 he won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He was associated with the group Bohurupee. In 1989 he directed the re-creation of the classic play ''Nabanna'' (1948) ...

*1989 –

Sekhar Chatterjee Shekhar Chatterjee (1924–1990) was an Indian actor and film director. Career Chatterjee was born in Kolkata in 1924. He began his career in the Bengali theatre in the 1950s. He was associated with a number of leftist theatre groups, including ...

*1995 – Satya Bandopadhyay *1998 –

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; 16 June 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of ...

*1999–2000 –

Ketaki Dutta Ketaki Dutta was an actor of Bengali theatre and films. She was also a singer. Chapal Bhaduri Chapal Bhaduri is the last living female impersonator in Bengali theatre and perhaps even in Indian theatre. He did female impersonation in J ...

Sabitri Chatterjee *2003 –

Shaoli Mitra Shaoli Mitra শাঁওলি মিত্র); 1948 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian Bengali theatre and film actress, director, and playwright. She played the role of ''Bangabala'' in Ritwik Ghatak's ''Jukti Takko Aar Gappo''. She is ...

= Gujarati theatre

= *1960 – Ashraf Khan *1965 – Muljibhai Khushalbhai Nayak *1968 – Jashwant Thaker *1974 – Pransukh Manilal Nayak *1980 – Dina Pathak (Gandhi) *1988 –

Sarita Joshi Sarita Joshi (''née'' Bhosle) is an Indian stage, television and film actress and is a veteran actress of Gujarati theatre and Marathi theatre and also Marathi cinema. In 2020, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award ...

= Hindi theatre

= *1979 – Amrish Puri *1982 – Manohar Singh *1984 – Uttara Baokar *1985 – Fida Hussain *1989 –

Surekha Sikri Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian theatre, film and television actress. Sikri received several awards, including three National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. A veteran of Hindi theatre, she made her debut in the 1977 ...

*1990–

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

(also Urdu) *1999–2000 – Seema Biswas

= Kannada

= *1955 – Gubbi Veeranna *1961 –

Subbaiah Naidu Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiah Naidu (1896 – 21 July 1962) was an Indian stage artiste in the silent movies era. He was an actor and director, well known for the movies '' Sati Sulochana'' (1934) in Kannada, which was also the first Kannada talkie ...

*1985 – B. Jayamma *1992 – R. Nagarathnamma *1994 – Balappa Yenagi *1996 – B. Jayashree *2003 –

C. R. Simha Channapatna Ramaswami Simha (16 June 1942 – 28 February 2014), better known as C. R. Simha, was an Indian actor, director, dramatist and playwright. He was best known for his work in Kannada films and for his work in stage shows. Starting hi ...

= Malayalam

= *1960 – C. I. Parameswaran Pillai *1965 – V. T. Aravindaksha Menon *1969 –

N. N. Pillai N. N. Pillai (Narayana Pillai Narayana Pillai; 1918–1995) was an Indian playwright, actor, theatre director, orator, screenplay writer, lyricist and an I.N.A Freedom fighter. (Served as Commanding Officer of Field Propaganda Unit under Neta ...

= Manipuri

= *1991 – Sabitri Heisnam *1997 – R. K. Bhogen

= Marathi theatre

= *1955 – Narayan Rao Rajhans 'Bal Gandharva' *1956 – Ganesh Govind Bodas *1957 – Chintaman Ganesh Kolhatkar *1960 – Gopal Govind Pathak *1964 – Keshav Trimbak Date *1971 – Shreeram Lagoo *1976 –

Jyotsna Bhole Jyotsna Keshav Bhole also known as Jyotsnabai Bhole ( mr, ज्योत्स्ना केशव भोळे) (11 May 1914 – 5 August 2001), was a veteran Marathi stage artist and a Hindustani classical singer. Along with Padmabai ...

*1978 – Dattaram N. Walwaikar *1981 – Chintamani Govind Pendse *1983 – Dattatray Ramachandra Bhat *1986 – Prabhakar V. Panshikar *1987 –

Sulabha Deshpande Sulabha Deshpande ( mr, सुलभा देशपांडे; 1937 – 4 June 2016) was an Indian actress and theatre director. Apart from Marathi theatre and Hindi theatre in Mumbai, she acted in over 73 mainstream Bollywood films. She als ...

(also Hindi) *1988 – Saudagar Nagnath Gore 'Chhota Gandharva' *1990 – Bhakti Barve Inamdar *1991 – Neelu Phule *1996 –

Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS an ...

= Oriya

= *1961 – Samuel Sahu

= Sanskrit

= *1965 – Krishnachandra Moreshwar "Daji Bhatawadekar"

= Tamil

= *1959 –

Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipi ...

*1962 – T. K. Shanmugam *1967 – S. V. Sahasranamam *1992 –

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (15 November 1921 – 1 October 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. He started performing on stage at age 18. He worked as a reader for All India Radio and went on to act in films such as ''C ...

=
Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Cent ...

= *1961 –

Sthanam Narasimha Rao Sthanam Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Sthanam (23 September 1902 – 21 February 1971), was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre and Telugu cinema. He was known for playing female characters and was a recipient of a Padma Sri ...

*1963 –

Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao (20 January 1907 – 3 December 1968) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre, and Telugu cinema. He was the member of Kendriya Sangeet Natak Akademi since 1952 and Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akadem ...

*1973 –

Kalyanam Raghuramaiah Kalyanam Raghuramayya (1901–1975), popularly known as Eelapata Raghuramayya, was an Indian actor, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Padmashri, He was k ...

*1986 – Peesapati Narasimha Murty

= Urdu

= *1963 –

Zohra Sehgal Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal (born Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazullah Khan Begum; 27 April 1912 – 10 July 2014) was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into acting ...

*1994 – Uzra Butt

From 2004 onwards

*2004 – Rohini Hattangady, Ramcharan Nirmalkar *2005 – Chindodi Leela *2006 – Dharani Barman, Gita Dey, K. Kaladharan Nair *2007 –

Ramesh Mehta Rameshwar Nath "Ramesh" Mehta, (born 7 August 1923) is an Indian playwright, director, actor and translator. Biography Mehta moved to Delhi in 1942 in search of a job after his graduation. His farce ''Under Secretary'' has been translated in ...

*2008 –

Markand Bhatt Markand Jashbhai Bhatt (2 October 1929 – 5 February 2016) was an Indian Gujarati theatre actor and director. Born and studied in Vadodara, he taught theatre for more than thirty years at M. S. University. He acted in and directed several Guja ...

, Arundhati Nag *2009 –

Sudha Shivpuri Sudha Shivpuri (14 July 1937 – 20 May 2015) was an Indian actress who was most famous for her role as Baa in the Hindi TV serial '' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' (2000–2008). Early life and career Brought up in Rajasthan, Sudha Shivpur ...

, Neeta Mohindra *2010 – Dilip Prabhavalkar, Banwari Taneja,

Maya Krishna Rao Maya Krishna Rao (born 1953) is an Indian theatre artist, stand-up comedian and social activist. Her well-known plays include ''Om Swaha'', ''Dafa No. 180'', ''Ravanama'' and ''Heads Are Meant for Walking Into''. She is a recipient of the Sangee ...

Swatilekha Sengupta Swatilekha Sengupta (''née'' Chatterjee; 22 May 1950 – 16 June 2021) was a Bengali actress. She had received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to Indian theatre as an actor. Career Swatilekha started her career in theater ...

*2012 – Parvesh Seth, Nirmal Rishi, Purisai Kannappa Sambandan *2013 – Vasant Josalkar, Kusum Haidar *2014 – Debshankar Haldar,

Ramdas Kamat Ramdas Shantaram Kamat (18 February 1931 – 8 January 2022) was an Indian musician. He worked in Sangeet Natak, Marathi theatre. Early life As a child he took Hindustani classical music lessons from elder brother Upendra. Natya Sangeet studied ...

*2017 –

Anil Tickoo Anil Tickoo is a stage actor in the Dogri and Hindi language, and a prominent figure in Jammu and Kashmir Theatre. Awards He has won numerous National awards in his career, including the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 201 ...

*2018 – Suhas Joshi, Teekam Joshi *2019 –

Alok Chatterjee Alok Chatterjee is an Indian theatre actor and director known for his theatre productions like ''Death of a Salesman'', ''Nat Samrat and #Anandmath latest play 2022''. He has been teaching at NSD and Pune based FTII. He also taught acting in ...

, Pranjal Saikia *2020 – Prashant Damle, Bhupesh Joshi, Amit Banerjee *2021 – Neeleshwar Mishra,

Y. G. Mahendran Y G Mahendran (born 9 January 1950) is an Indian Actor, dramatist, actor, singer, playwright and comedian from the state of Tamil Nadu. He has acted in a number of plays and films. He is the son of Y. G. Parthasarathy, one of the pioneers of mo ...

Mime

*1993 –

Jogesh Dutta Jogesh Dutta (born 1935) is an Indian mime who for over fifty years, pioneered the art of mime in India. Early life Born in 1935 in Faridpur District of Bangladesh, Datta spent almost 11 years of his life in his native village at Haatshiruaai ...

*2002 –

Niranjan Goswami Niranjan Goswami is an Indian mime artist and stage director, credited by many with pioneering the art form of mime in India. He is the founder of ''Indian Mime Theatre'', a group promoting the art of ''Mukhabhinaya'' (silent acting). Career ...

*2009 – Moinul Haque *2018 – Swapan Nandy *2021 – Vilas Janve

Direction

* 1957 – Jaishankar Bhojak 'Sundari' * 1959 –

Sombhu Mitra Sombhu Mitra (22 August 1915 – 19 May 1997) was an Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright, reciter and an Indian theatre personality, known especially for his involvement in Bengali theatre, where he is considered a pioneer. H ...

* 1961 – Kasambhai Nathubhai Mir * 1962 –

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was an Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them havin ...

* 1964 – T. S. Rajamanikkam * 1969 – Habib Tanvir * 1970 – Adi Ferozeshah Marzban * 1971 –

Satyadev Dubey Satyadev Dubey (13 July 1936 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971. He won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Scree ...

* 1972 –

Shyamanand Jalan Shyamanand Jalan (13 January 1934 – 24 May 2010) was a Kolkata-based Indian theatre director, and actor. He is credited for the renaissance period of modern Indian theatre and especially the Hindi theatre in Kolkata from the 1960s to 1980s. H ...

* 1973 –

Ajitesh Bandopadhyay Ajitesh Bandopadhyay ( bn, অজিতেশ বন্দোপাধ্যায়; born: 30 September 1933 ― 13 October 1983) was an actor, playwright, activist and director. He along with Shambhu Mitra and Utpal Dutt are considered to be ...

* 1974 – Damodar Kashinath Kenkre * 1975 – Vijaya Mehta * 1976 –

B. V. Karanth Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth (Kannada: ಬಾಬುಕೋಡಿ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಕಾರಂತ) (19 September 1929 – 1 September 2002) widely known as B. V. Karanth was an Indian film director, playwright, actor, screenwriter, co ...

* 1977 – Rajinder Nath * 1978 – Jabbar Patel * 1979 –

B. M. Shah Brij Mohan Shah (1933–1998), better known as B M Shah, was an Indian theatre director and playwright. Shah along with Mohan Upreti, are together credited for the revival of the theatre in the Uttarakhand. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akad ...

* 1980 –

Rudraprasad Sengupta Rudraprasad Sengupta (born 31 January 1935) is a Bengali Indian actor, director and cultural critic. Biography Sengupta was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal, the son of Anant Sengupta and Usha Prabha Sengupta. He studied at the Scottish ...

* 1981 – R.S. Manohar * 1982 – Sheila Bhatia * 1983 –

Kavalam Narayana Panikkar Kavalam Narayana Panicker (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's ''Vikramorvasi ...

* 1985 –

Heisnam Kanhailal Heisnam Kanhailal (17 January 1941 – 6 October 2016) was an Indian art theatre personality. For his work, he was awarded the Padma Shri Indian honours system, civilian award in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan civilian award in 2016 by the Governme ...

* 1986 – Alyque Padamsee * 1987 – Tarun Roy * 1987 – Ratan Thiyam * 1989 –

Bibhash Chakraborty Bibhash Chakraborty (alternatively spelt Bibhas Chakraborty; born 23 September 1937) is an Indian Bengali actor and theatre personality. He is also a social activist. He is a prolific writer too. He was associated with Paschim Banga Natya Akademi f ...

* 1990 –

Geoffrey Kendal Geoffrey Kendal (7 September 1909 – 14 May 1998) was an English actor and theatre director who delivered Shakespeare performances throughout India in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life and family Born Richard Geoffrey Bragg in Kendal, Westmorla ...

& Laura Kendal (Joint Award) * 1991 – Fritz Bennewitz * 1992 – Mohan Maharishi * 1993 – Kailash Pandya * 1993 – Barry John * 1995 –

M. K. Raina Maharaj Krishen Raina (born 10 February 1948), popularly known as M. K. Raina, is an Indian theatre actor and Theatre director, director. Raina graduated from National School of Drama in 1970 with the Best Actor award. Early life Maharaj Krishn ...

* 1995 – Bansi Kaul * 1996 – Purushottam Darwhekar * 1997 –

Bhanu Bharti Bhanu Bharti (born 1947) is an Indian theatre director and playwright, and the founder-director of ''Aaj Rangmandal'' theatre group. Most known for his theatre productions and choreographies with tribal and folk artists, including ''Pashu Gayatr ...

* 1998 –

Amal Allana Amal Allana (born 14 September 1947) is an Indian theatre director, scenic designer and costume designer and presently she is in her second consecutive term as the Chairperson of National School of Drama, India's premier institute of Theatre tra ...

* 1998 – Dulal Roy * 1998 –

Usha Ganguly Usha Ganguli (1945 – 23 April 2020) was an Indian theatre director-actor and activist, most known for her work in Hindi theatre in Kolkata in the 1970s and 1980s. She founded '' Rangakarmee'' theatre group in 1976, known for its productions ...

* 1999–2000 – Balwant Thakur * 1999–2000 – Nadira Zaheer Babbar * 1999–2000 – Prasanna * 2001 –

Shanta Gandhi Shanta Kalidas Gandhi (20 December 1917 – 6 May 2002) was an Indian theatre director, dancer and playwright who was closely associated with IPTA, the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India. She studied with Indira Gandhi at a residenti ...

* 2002 – Arun Mukherjee, Satish Anand, * 2003 – Devendra Raj Ankur, Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry * 2004 – Anuradha Kapur, Arambam Lokendra Singh, Raj Besaria * 2005 – Ranjit Kapoor,

V K Sharma Vinod Kumar Sharma is an Indian actor, writer and director who works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, television and stage. He is the recipient of a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction in theatre. He is the founder and director of Khilona Thea ...

* 2006 – E. Joychandra Singh, R. Nagesh, Amitava Dasgupta * 2007 – Hari Madhab Mukherjee, N.C. Thakur * 2008 – S. Ramanujam, Probir Guha * 2009 – Joy Michael, Dinesh Thakur * 2010 – Veenapani Chawla, Urmil Kumar Thapliyal * 2011 – Alakhnandan, Kirti Jain * 2012 – Tripurari Sharma,

Waman Kendre Waman Kendre is an Indian theatre director and academician. He has previously served as the Director of National School of Drama, (NSD) New Delhi from August 2013 to September 2018. He is married to Actress Gauri Kendre and also has a son Early ...

* 2013 – Kamalkar Muralidhar Sontakke,

Kewal Dhaliwal Kewal Dhaliwal (born 7 October 1964) is a Punjabi playwright, theater director and president of Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi Chandigarh. An alumnus of the National School of Drama, Dhaliwal has been active in theater for more than thirty-five yea ...

, Prasanna Ramaswamy * 2014 – Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Chidambar Rao Jambe * 2015 – Parvez Akhtar, Mushtaq Kak * 2016 –

Satyabrata Rout Satyabrata Rout (born 17 March 1958) is an Indian theatre director Scenographer, Author and theatre academician. He is a former faculty member of the National School of Drama. At present, he is a professor and Head of the department of Theatre ...

, Rajkamal Nayak * 2018 – Sanjay Upadhyay, S. Raghunandana * 2019 – Bharti Sharma, Kumar Sohoni, Abinash Sarma * 2020 – Lokendra Trivedi, Mithilesh Rai * 2021 – R. Venugopal Rao (Surabhi), Lalit Singh Pokharia, Sudesh Sharma, Ajay Malkani, Manoj Pattnaik

Playwriting

*Assamese **1986 – Satya Prasad Barua **2003 – Aruna Sarma *Bengali **1968 – Badal Sircar **1969 – Manmatha Ray **1975 –

Bijon Bhattacharya Bijon Bhattacharya ( bn, বিজন ভট্টাচার্য; 17 July 1906 – 19 January 1978) was an Indian theatre and film actor from West Bengal. He was an eminent playwright and dramatist. Bhattacharya was born in 1906 at Farid ...

**1985 – Manoj Mitra **1991 – Mohit Chattopadhyaya *Dogri **2008 – Narsingh Dev Jamwal *Gujarati **1961 – Prabhulal Dayaram Dwivedi **1971 –

C. C. Mehta Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta (6 April 1901 – 4 May 1991), popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadoda ...

, Pragji Dossa, *Hindi **1965 – Upendra Nath Ashk **1968 – Mohan Rakesh **1977 – Lakshmi Narain Lal **1988 –

Dharamvir Bharati Dharamvir Bharati (25 December 1926 – 4 September 1997) was a renowned Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine '' Dharmayug'', from 1960 till 1987.The Illustr ...

**1992 –

Surendra Verma Surendra Verma (born 7 September 1941) is a leading Hindi litterateur and playwright. He started out as a playwright, when his play ''Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pahli Kiran Tak'' (From sunset to sunrise, 1972) became quite well known; it ...

**2001 – Bhisham Sahni, D.P. Sinha **2006 – Prabhat Kumar Bhattacharya **2004 –

Swadesh Deepak Swadesh Deepak (born 1943) is an Indian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active on the Hindi literary scene since the mid-1960s and is best known for ''Court Martial,'' a 1991 play. Deepak's most recent book is ''Maine ...

**2007 – Reoti Sharan Sharna **2008 –

Mudra Rakshasa The Mudrarakshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: ''Mudrārākṣasa'', ) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya ( BCE) to power in India. The play is an example of c ...

*Kannada **1963 – Adya Rangacharya 'Shriranga' **1972 – Girish Karnad **1983 – Chandrashekhara Kambara **1980 – Narasinga Rao Parwathavani **1989 – G. B. Joshi **1997 – H. S. Shivaprakash *Kashmiri **1997 –

Moti Lal Kemmu Moti Lal Kemmu (born 1933) is an Indian contemporary playwright from Jammu & Kashmir. He was born in Srinagar into a Kashmiri Pandit family and attended Jammu and Kashmir University. His plays include ''Nagar Udas'', ''Teen Asangati Aikanki' ...

*Malayalam **1979 –

G. Sankara Pillai Gopala Pillai Sankara Pillai (June 22, 1930 – January 1, 1989), better known as G. Sankara Pillai, was an Indian playwright, literary critic, and director, known to be one of the pioneers of modern Malayalam theatre. A proponent of total the ...

**1983 –

**1986 –

K. T. Muhammed K. T. Muhammed (29 September 1927 – 25 March 2008), popularly known as KT, was a Malayalam playwright and screenwriter. He had scripted about 40 stage plays, including ''Idhu Bhumiyanu'' (''This is the Earth''), considered to be his masterpie ...

**1997 – N. Krishna Pillai **2009 –

Vayala Vasudevan Pillai Vayala Vasudevan Pillai (22 April 1945 – 29 August 2011) was a Malayalam-language playwright from Kerala, India. He was the disciple of eminent playwright G. Sankara Pillai. He directed over 40 plays. Some of his popular plays include ''Viswada ...

*Manipuri **2007 – Yumnam Rajendra Singh *Marathi **1958 – B.V. 'Mama' Warerkar **1967 –

P. L. Deshpande Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (alternatively written as Pu La Deshpande; 8 November 1919 – 12 June 2000), popularly known by his initials ("Pu. La.") or as P. L. Deshpande, was a Marathi writer and humorist from Maharashtra. He was also an a ...

**1970 – Vijay Tendulkar **1976 –

C. T. Khanolkar Chintamani Tryambak Khanolkar (C. T. Khanolkar) ( mr, चिंतामणी त्र्यंबक खानोलकर) (8 March 1930 – 26 April 1976) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He wrote poetry under the name "Arati ...

**1982 –

M.G. Rangnekar Motiram Gajanan Rangnekar (M. G. Rangnekar) (Devanagari: मोतीराम गजानन रांगणेकर) (10 April 1907 – 1 February 1995) was a Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic gr ...

**1984 – Vasant Shankar Kanetkar **1987 –

V.V. Shirwadkar Vishnū Vāman Shirwādkar (27 February 1912 – 10 March 1999), popularly known by his pen name, Kusumāgraj, was an Marathi poet, playwright, novelist and short story writer, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived ...

**1989 –

Mahesh Elkunchwar Mahesh Elkunchwar (born 9 October 1939) is an Indian playwright and screenplay writer in Marathi language with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's ''Parallel Cin ...

**1994 –

Satish Alekar Satish Vasant Alekar (born 30 January 1949) is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director. A founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune, and most known for his plays ''Mahanirvan'' (1974), ''Mahapoor'' (1975), ''Atirekee'' (1990), ''Pi ...

**1996 – G.P. Deshpande **2003 – Ratnakar Ramkrishna Matkari **2009 – Shankar Narayan Navre *Mizo **2007 – Lathangfala Sailo *Oriya **1981 – Manorajan Das **1982 –

Biswajit Das Biswajit Das is an Indian poet who is an expert in marketing, business communication. He has authored 9 books and published more than 150 research articles. Das is continuing his D.Litt. on sustainable real estate market. He has 26 years o ...

**1987 – Gopal Chhotray *Punjabi **1993 – Gursharan Singh **1998 –

Balwant Gargi Balwant Gargi (4 December 1916 – 22 April 2003) was an Indian Punjabi language dramatist, theatre director, novelist, and short story writer, and academic. Early life On 4 December 1916, in Canal House in Sehna, Barnala (Punjab), Balwant Garg ...

**2010 – Atamjeet Singh *Tamil **1974 – S.D. Sundaram **1999–2000 –

Na. Muthuswamy Padma Shri Na Muthuswamy (1936 – 24 October 2018) was the art director of Tamil folk theatre group Koothu-P-Pattarai, which is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in South India. Muthuswamy has been described by ''The Hindu'' as "the master of the ...

**2004 – Indira Parthasarathy *Telugu **2010 – D. Vizai Bhaskar

2012 onwards

*2012 – Arjun Deo Charan *2013 – Rameshwar Prem, Pundalik Narayan Naik *2014 – Asgar Wajahat *2018 – Rajiv Naik,

Laltluangliana Khiangte Laltluangliana Khiangte is a Mizo academic, playwright and poet of Mizo literature. He was the principal of the Serampore College and a former professor at Pachhunga University College and the North Eastern Hill University. He is presently ser ...

*2019 – Hrishikesh Sulabh

Allied Theatre Arts

*Lighting **1974 –

Tapas Sen Tapas Sen ( 11 September, 1924 – 28 June, 2006) was a noted India, Indian Stage lighting, stage lighting designer, who was an important figure in 20th-century Indian theatre. He started working with Bengali theatre movement in Kolkata in the l ...

**1977 – V, Ramamurthy **1989 – G.N. Dasgupta **1994 – Kanishka Sen **1997 – Mansukh Joshi (for scenic design also) **1999–2000 – R.K. Dhingra **2002 – Ashok Sagar Bhagat **2003 – Sreenivas G. Kappanna **2005 –

Suresh Bhardwaj Suresh Bhardwaj (born 6 June 1955) is an Indian theatre, film and television director as well as a lighting and scenic designer. He has acted in many plays as lead actor as well. He is the director of ''(Aakar Kala Sangam)'' (AKS), a Delhi base ...

**2006 - Gautam Bhattacharya **2011 – Kamal Jain **2019 – Souti Chakraborty **2020 – Raghav Prakash *Scenic Design **1985 – Goverdhan Panchal **1986 –

Khaled Choudhury Khaled Choudhury (20 December 1919 – 30 April 2014) was a theatre personality and artist of Bengal. He worked for various directors of both Bengali and Hindi plays, including Sombhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, and Shyamanand Jalan in various c ...

**1988 –

Dattatraya Ganesh Godse Dattatraya Ganesh Godse (Devanagari: दत्तात्रय गणेश गोडसे, द. ग. गोडसे) was an Indian historian, playwright, art critic, art director, theatre and costume designer, and illustrator. He received ...

**1997 – Mansukh Joshi **1999–2000 – Robin Das **2007 – Mahendra Kumar *Costumes/Make-up **1981 – Ashok Srivastava (Make-up) **1990 – Roshan Alkazi (Costume Design) **1999–2000 – Shakti Sen (Make-up) **2001 –

Dolly Ahluwalia Dolly Ahluwalia is an Indian actress and costume designer who was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 for costume design.R. Paramashivan **2009 – Kuldeep Singh **2012 - Murari Roychoudhury **2014 - Amod Bhatt, Amardas Manikpuri (Chhattisgarh) *Stagecraft **1993 –

M.S. Sathyu Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu ( kn, ಮೈಸೂರು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯು) (born 6 July 1930) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. He is best known for his directorial ''Garm Hava'' (1973), w ...

**1995 – N. Krishnamoorthy **2002 – Nissar Allana **2005 – H. V. Sharma **2020 – N. Jadumani Singh

Major traditions of theatre

*2007 – Kolyur Ramachandra Rao ( Yakshagana) *2008 – Bansi Lal Khiladi, Khayal (Rajasthan) *2012 – Ghulam Rasool Bhagat (

Bhand Pather Bhānds (Devanagari: भांड; Urdu: بھانڈ, Gurmukhi: ਭੰਡ) are the traditional folk entertainers of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In India and Nepal, the Bahand are now an endogamous Muslim community, which is no longer ...

) *2014 – Manjunath Bhagwat Hostota (Yakshagana) *2018 – Bhagawat A. S. Nanjappa (Yakshagana), A. M. Parameswaran Kuttan Chakkiyar ( Kutiyattam) *2019 – K. S. Krishanappa (Isai Natakam) *2020 – P. P. Kandaswami (

Therukoothu Koothu or Therukoothu (jwalith) ( ta, கூத்து), is an ancient art, where artists play songs with dance and music in storytelling the epics, performed in Tamil; it is a folk art originated from the early Tamil country. More precisel ...

) *2021 – Gunindra Nath Ojah (Music and Direction in Ankiya Bhaona)

Other Traditional / Folk/ Tribal/ Dance/ Music/ Theatre and Puppetry

* 1964 – Mani Madhava Chakyar (Kutiyattam), Kerala * 1969 – Gahan Chandra Goswami (Ankia Nat, Assam) * 1972 – Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair (Kathakali), Kerala * 1976 – Raghunath Panigrahi (Joint Award with

for Odissi Music, Orissa) * 1981 – Kamini Kumar Narzary (Bodo Tribal Dance, Assam) * 1983 – Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya (Akhyana), Gujarat * 1983 – Lalit Chandra Ojha (Ojapali and Deodhani Dances, Assam) * 1984 –

Balakrushna Dash Sangeeta Sudhakara Balakrushna Dash () was a veteran Guru of Odissi music. One of the chief disciples of the legend Pt Gokul Chandra Srichandan of Kendrapada, Dash worked variously as a vocalist, composer and music director. He received the Odish ...

(Odissi Music, Orissa) * 1985 – Mohan Chandra Barman (Bhaona, Assam) * 1984 –

Bhubaneswar Mishra Bhubaneswar Mishra (born 9 November 1961) is an Indian American computer scientist and professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University. He is known for his applied contributions to bioinformatics, cybersec ...

(Odissi Music, Orissa) * 1987 – Bhupen Hazarika (Folk Music, Assam) * 1988 – Pratima Barua Pandey (Folk Music, Assam) * 1989 – Rajen Pam (Tribal Music, Assam) * 1990 – Rameshwar Pathak (Folk Music, Assam) * 1991 – Puranchand Wadali & Pyarelal Wadali (Folk Music), Punjab * 1992 – Khagen Mahanta (Folk Music, Assam) * 1994 –

M. Boyer Manuel Santana Aguiar (11 October 1930 – 30 May 2009), known professionally as M. Boyer was an Indian tiatrist from Goa. Boyer, was originally from Marcaim in Ponda, and later moved to Raia. His parents were Sebastiao Floriano Aguiar and Mari ...

( Tiatr), Goa * 1995 – Teejan Bai ( Pandavani), Madhya Pradesh * 1997 – Arghya sen abindra sangeet West Bengal * 1997 –

P. R. Thilagam P. R. Thilagam (born 1926), popularly known as Thiruvarur Thilagam, is an Indian composer, vocalist and exponent of ''Kuravanji'', a traditional form of dance drama popular in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She hails from ''Kondi parampara'' ( ...

, Kuravanji performer, Tamil Nadu * 1998 –

Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz (died 13 February 2014) was the last known master of Kashmiri Sufiyana Music in the world. He opened a school to teach his genre of music, although it did not attract many students from Kashmir because of religious an ...

, Jammu and Kashmir * 2002 – Dilip Sarma & Sudakshina Sarma (Jyoti Sangeet, Assam - Joint Award) * 2003 –

Prabhat Sarma Prabhat Sarma ( as, প্ৰভাত শৰ্মা) (7 July 1935 – 2 March 2021) was a folk exponent and flutist from Assam, India. Personal life and family Sarma's daughter Tarali Sarma is a National Award-winning singer. Career Sarma ...

(traditional & Folk Music, Assam) * 2003 – Kosha Kanta Deva Goswami (Mask Making Bhaona, Assam) * 2003 –

Banamali Maharana Banamali Maharana (, 16 May 1941 – 17 November 2018) was an Indian percussionist who played Mardala. Career Maharana began playing Khola (Mrudanga) and Dholak with Goswami. His formal training began after he joined the Annapurna Theatre, ...

(Odissi Music, Orissa) * 2005 – Khirod Khakhlari (Bodo Dance & Music, Assam) * 2005 – Kashinath Pujapanda (Odissi Music, Orissa) * 2005 –

(Kathakali), Kerala * 2007 – Subodh Debbarma (Folk dance), Tripura * 2007 –

Amar Pal Amar Pal (19 May 1922 – 20 April 2019) was an Indian Bengali folk singer and author. Early life Pal was born in 1922 at Brahmanbaria in British India. His father Mahesh Chandra Pal died when Pal was 10. He learned folk songs from his mother Du ...

(Folk Song, West Bengal) * 2008 – Kartar Singh * 2008 – Mangi Bai Arya ( Mand), Rajasthan * 2008 – Lakha Khan Mangniyar, (Folk Music), Rajasthan * 2008 – Bansi Lal Khilari (

Khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...

), Rajasthan * 2009 – Bhikhudan Gadhvi (Folk music), Gujarat * 2010 – Harbhajan Singh Namdhari (Gurbani Kirtan), Punjab * 2010 – Nazeer Ahmed Khan Warsi and Naseer Ahmed Khan Warsi ( Qawwali), Andhra Pradesh * 2010 – Dwijen Mukherjee (

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Li ...

), West Bengal * 2010 – Chandabai Tiwadi (Bharud), Maharashtra * 2010 – T. Somasundaram (Folk dance), Tamil Nadu * 2010 – Krishna Kumari (Folk music:

Bhakha Bhakha, also known as Bhakha (Gir) and Gir Bhakha, is a village / panchayat located in the Gir Gadhada Taluka of Gir Somnath district in Gujarat State, India. Earlier, until August 2013, Bhakha was part of Una Taluka and Junagadh district. The la ...

), Jammu and Kashmir * 2010 – Chand Jagdish Tiwadi (Folk theatre:

Bharud Eknath ( IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi pronunciation: knath (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movemen ...

), Maharashtra * 2011 – Trippekulam Achuta Marar(Kerla) * 2011 – Hemant Chauhan for Folk Music (Gujarat) * 2011 – Gurmeet Bawa for Folk Music (Punjab) * 2011 – Kashiram Sahu for Folk Theatre (Chhattisgarh) * 2011 – Mipham Otsal for Traditional Theatre (Jammu & Kashmir) * 2011 – Bellagallu Veeranna for Togalu Gombeyatta, Puppetry (Karnataka) * 2011 – Gopal Chandra Das for Putul Nach (Tripura) * 2011 – Kasmi Khan Niyazi for Making of musical Instrument (DeIhi) * 2012 – Go Ru Channabasappa (Folk Music - Karnataka) * 2012 – Kinaram Nath Oja (Suknani Ojapali - Assam) * 2012 – Prem Singh Dehati (Folk Music - Haryana) * 2012 – Sulochana Chavan (Lavani - Maharashtra) * 2012 – Mattannur Sankaran Kutty Marar (Thayambaka - Kerala) * 2012 – Govind Ram Nirmalkar (Nacha - Chhattisgarh) * 2012 – Heera Das Negi (Mask Making - Himachal Pradesh) * 2013 – Meeenakshi K. (Instrument Making - Ghatam - Tamil Nadu) * 2013 –

Raj Begum Raj Begum (27 March 1927 – 26 October 2016) was a Kashmiri singer. She was also known as the Melody Queen of Kashmir. She was honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri Padma Shri ( ...

, Traditional, Folk Music/Dance & Theatre (Jammu & Kashmir) * 2013 – T.A.R. Nadi Rao & N Jeeva Rao (Joint Award), Folk Music (Tamil Nadu) * 2013 – Gurdial Singh, Instrument Making (Punjab) * 2013 – Mohan Singh Khangura, Rabindra Sangeet (West Bengal) * 2013 – Umakanta Gogoi (Bairagi), Tokari Geet and Dehbichar Geet, (Assam) * 2013 – Sheikh Riyajuddin alias Rajubaba, Folk Theatre (Maharashtra) * 2014 – Puran Shah Koti (Traditional Music - Punjab) * 2014 – Kalamandalam Ram Mohan (Makeup/Costume for Kathakali) * 2014 – Reba Kanta Mohanta (Mask Making - Assam) * 2014 – Abdul Rashid Hafiz (Folk Music - Jammu & Kashmir ) * 2014 – K.Shanathoiba Sharma (Thang-Ta - Manipur) * 2014 – Ramdayal Sharma (Nautanki - U.P.) * 2014 – Thanga Darlong (Folk Music - Tripura) * 2015 – Ramchandra Singh (Folk Theater - Bihar) * 2017 –

(Folk Music - Jharkhand) * 2017 – Prakash Khandge (Folk Arts - Maharashtra) * 2018 – Malini Awasthi (Folk Music - Uttar Pradesh) * 2018 – Gazi Khan Barna (Folk Music - Khartal, Rajasthan) * 2018 –

Narendra Singh Negi Narendra Singh Negi (born 12 August 1949), also referred as 'Garh Ratan' and 'Bob Dylan of the hills' is one of the most prominent folk singers, composer and a poet of the Garhwal and Uttarakhand who prominently sings in Garhwali language. Report ...

(Folk Songs - Uttarakhand) * 2018 – Niranjan Rajyaguru (Folk Music - Gujarat) * 2018 – Mohd. Sadiq Bhagat (Folk Theatre - Bhand Pather, J&K) * 2018 – Kota Sachidanand Shastry (Harikatha - Andhra Pradesh) * 2018 –

Arjun Singh Dhurve Arjun Singh Dhurve (born 12 August 1953) is a folk dancer and a retired teacher from the Dindori district of the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. He is famous for popularising Baiga folk songs and dance. Baiga Pardhauni dance is the main danc ...

(Folk Dance - Madhya Pradesh) * 2018 – Somnath Battu (Folk Music - Himachal Pradesh) * 2018 – Hem Chandra Goswami (Mask Making - Assam) * 2019 –

Mamta Chandrakar Mamta Chandrakar (born 3 December 1958) is a Padma Shri Awarded folk singer of Chhattisgarh. She is referred to as the Nightingale of Chhattisgarh. Mamta Chandrakar has her post graduation degree in singing from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidy ...

(Folk Music Chhattisgarh) * 2019 – Ram Lal (Folk Music, Uttarakhand) * 2019 – Shankarbhai Hakabhai Dharjiya (Folk Music & Dance - Gujarat) * 2019 – Nathulal Solanki (Folk Music - Rajasthan) * 2019 – Pandurang Ghotkar (Folk Music - Maharashtra) * 2019 – Peruvanam Kuttan Marar (Thayambaka - Kerala) * 2019 – Urmila Pandey (Folk Music - Madhya Pradesh) * 2019 – Sayed Mohmmed P.P. (Folk Music & Dance - Lakshadweep) * 2019 – Majid Gulabsaheb Sitarmaker (Instrument Making - Maharashtra) * 2019 – Dulal Kanji (Instrument Making - West Bengal) * 2020 – Balkar Sidhu (Folk Dance - Punjab) * 2020 – Nandlal Garg (Folk Music - Himachal Pradesh) * 2020 – B. Lalthlengliana (Folk Theatre - Mizoram) * 2020 – Ranjana Kumri Jha (Folk Music - Bihar) * 2020 – S. G. Lakshmidevamma (Folk Music - Karnataka) * 2020 – Tarubala Debbarma (Folk Music and Dance - Tripura) * 2020 – Sang Jangmu (Folk Dance - Arunachal Pradesh) * 2020 – Gafoor Khan Manganiar (Folk Music - Rajasthan) * 2020 – Zachunu Keyho (Folk Music - Nagaland) * 2021 – Silbi Passah (Folk Music - Meghalaya) * 2021 – Durga Prasad Murmu (Folk Music and Dance - Jharkhand) * 2021 – Prashanna Gogoi (Folk Music & Dance - Assam) * 2021 – Gartigere Raghanna (H. N Raghavenda) (Folk Music - Karnataka) * 2021 – S Samundaram (Folk Music - Tamil Nadu) * 2021 – Data Ram Purohit (Folk Music & Theatre - Uttarakhand) * 2021 – Mahavir Singh Guddu (Folk Music & Dance - Haryana) * 2021 – N Tiken Singh (Folk Music - Manipur) * 2021 – N. Sekar (Folk Music - Puducherry) * 2021 – R. Murugan (Instrument Making - Tamil Nadu)

Puppetry/ Mime/ Allied arts of traditional forms

* 1978 – Kathinanada Das (Ravanchhaya puppetry), Orissa * 1979 – U. Kogga Devanna Kamath (Gombeatta puppetry), Karnataka * 1980 – K.L. Krishnan Kutty Pulavar (Tholpava Koothu), Kerala * 1981 – M.R. Ranganatha Rao, Karnataka * 1983 – Meher Rustom Contractor, Gujarat * 1987 –

Suresh Dutta Suresh Dutta is an Indian puppet artist, theatre personality and the founder of Calcutta Puppet Theatre, a Kolkata-based theatre group dedicated to puppetry. Born in Faridpur, in the undivided Bengal of the British India, he trained art under P ...

, West Bengal * 1992 – Dadi Dorab Pudumjee, Delhi * 1995 – T. Hombiah, Karnataka * 1998 – Kolhacharan Sahu (Ravanchhaya puppetry), Orissa * 1999 – B.H. Puttashamachar, Karanataka * 2001 –

Hiren Bhattacharya Hiren Bhattacharyya (28 July 1932 – 4 July 2012), popularly known as Hiruda, was an Indian poet and lyricist best for his works in the Assamese literature. He had innumerable works published in Assamese and achieved many prizes and accolade ...

, Assam * 2003 –

Puran Bhatt Puran Bhaat is a puppeteer from India. Originally from Rajasthan, his group of puppeteer families settled in Delhi almost fifty years ago. They currently reside in the Kathputli Colony at Delhi, an artist community. He was awarded the Sangeet ...

, Rajasthan * 2005 – Ganpat Sakharam Masge, Maharashtra * 2010 – K. Chinna Anjannamma (Shadow puppetry: Tolu Bommalata), Andhra Pradesh * 2010 – K.V. Ramakrishnan and K.C. Ramakrishnan (Glove puppetry: Pava Kathakali), Kerala * 2012 – Prafulla Karmakar (Traditional Puppetry - West Bengal) * 2013 – Lilavati M Kavi (Bajaj), Puppetry * 2014 – K. Kesavasamy (Puppetry - Puducherry) * 2016 – Prabhitangsu Das (Contemporary Puppetry - Tripura) * 2018 – Anupama Hoskere (Classical String Puppetry of Karnataka, Bengaluru) * 2020 – Meena Nayak (Puppetry - Maharashtra)

Films

Overall Contribution/Scholarship

References

External links

* {{India Honours and Decorations Awards established in 1952 Civil awards and decorations of India Indian film awards Indian music awards Indian art awards Dance awards Sangeet Natak Akademi 1952 establishments in India hi:संगीत नाटक अकादमी पुरस्कार

Award recipients

Music

Hindustani music

Vocal

Instrumental

= Been Been may refer to: *To be *Have been * Been (surname) *Beens, an ethnic group of Bangladesh *Pungi or been, an Indian wind instrument *Rudra veena The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra v .../ Rudra Veena/ Vichitra Veena

= Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

= Guitar

= Harmonium

= Pakhavaj

= Santoor

= Sarangi

= Sarod

= Shehnai

= Sitar

= Surbahar

= Tabla

= Violin

Carnatic music

Vocal

Instrumental

= Clarionet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. T ...

= Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

= Ghatam

= Gottuvadhyam

= Kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic m ...

= Mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

= Mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

= Nagaswaram

= Saxophone

= Thavil

= Veena

= Violin

Creative and experimental music

Folk music

Other major traditions of music

Dance

Bharatanatyam

Chhau

Creative dance/Choreography

Kathak

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

Manipuri

Mohiniattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

Odissi

Sattriya

Other major traditions of dance and dance theatre

Music for dance

Folk and Tribal dance

Theatre

Acting

From 1952–2003 (language-wise)

= Assamese

= Bengali theatre

= Gujarati theatre

= Hindi theatre

= Kannada

= Malayalam

= Manipuri

= Marathi theatre

= Oriya

= Sanskrit

= Tamil

= Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Cent ...

= Urdu

From 2004 onwards

Mime

Direction

Playwriting

2012 onwards

Allied Theatre Arts

Major traditions of theatre

Other Traditional / Folk/ Tribal/ Dance/ Music/ Theatre and Puppetry

Puppetry/ Mime/ Allied arts of traditional forms

Films

Overall Contribution/Scholarship

References

External links

=
Been Been may refer to: To be Have been * Been (surname) Beens, an ethnic group of Bangladesh Pungi or been, an Indian wind instrument *Rudra veena The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra v ...
/ Rudra Veena/ Vichitra Veena

=
Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

=
Clarionet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. T ...

=
Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

=
Kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic m ...

=
Mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

=
Mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

=
Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Cent ...