The Sangeet Natak Akademi recently awarded young artists from across the country for showcasing their talent in the field of performing arts. The event was organized for the first time outside Delhi in Tripura capital Agartala.
The country's best performing artists were awarded with the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the year 2012 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
At the event, 32 artists were awarded with a citation and Rs. 25000 cash each by Tripura governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya and Sangeet Natak Akademi chairperson Leela Samson.
The categories included music, dance, theatre and folk and traditional arts.
"We chose Tripura because we really wanted to take this out of Delhi. And we have a good funding for northeast and a good presence in northeast. We wanted these young artists to come here and see Tripura and interact with the Northeast artists. We felt that we can create a center here because then only the real dialogue will happen between these artists and the artists of the tribal region," said Sangeet Natak Akademi Chairperson Leela Samson.
The award ceremony was followed by a five-day long festival of music, dance and drama featuring the recipients of the award.
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People in Agartala got a chance to witness the performances of artists like Lakhwinder Wadali a Punjabi folk musician and Firoze Khan Manganiar a folk artist from Rajasthan.
Bikrama Khakhlari a Bodo dancer from Assam's Karbi Anglong district mesmerized the audience with her outstanding performance.
"This was a very good program. I got an award here and I believe that by seeing such events, young girls, like my students will be encouraged to take up such arts. They will feel that there is a scope of getting respect through this," Awardee Bikrama Khakhlari.
"Here, we got to see all forms of song, drama and dance. We are really enjoying it and if such programmes happen more often then I hope the cultural field will really develop," K Madhuvi Singh from the audience.
Art and music help to bridge the gap between the communities and help them unite under one platform.