Sangeet Natak Akademi
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The Sangeet Natak Akademi (Devanāgarī: संगीत नाटक अकादेमी or, The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the first national level academy of art set up by the Government of India. It was set up by the Indian education ministryin May 31, 1952 and became functional the following year, with the appointment of its first Chairman, Dr P. V. Rajamannar. Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, inaugurated it on January 28, 1953 in a special function held in the Parliament House.
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[edit] The work
The academy functions as the apex body of the performing arts in the country in an effort to preserve and promote the vast cultural heritage of India expressed in the forms of music, dance and drama. It also works with, both, the governments and various art academies in different states and territories of the country.
- It establishes and maintains institutions and projects of national importance. Some of its prominent child institutions include
- National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1959.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal.
- Kathak Kendra (National Institute of Kathak Dance), New Delhi in 1964
- National Projects in the support of Kuttiyattam (the age-old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala)
- Subsidizing the work of institutions engaged in teaching, performing or promoting music, dance, or theatre
- Gives grants to aid research, documentation and publishing in the performing arts
- Organizes and subsidizes seminars and conferences of subject specialists
- Documents and records the performing arts for its audio-visual archive.
- Renders advice and assistance to the Government of India in the task of formulating and implementing policies and programmes in the field.
- The academy also carries a part of the responsibilities of the state for fostering cultural contacts between various regions within the country, as well as between India and the world.
[edit] The facilities
The academy is also an important source of information and offers the following facilities
[edit] The audio-visual archive
The academy's audio-visual archive has several audio/video tapes, photographs and films. It is the largest archive of its kind in the country and is extensively drawn upon by the India for research on the performing arts.
[edit] The library
The academy maintains a reference library consisting of about 22,000 books in English, Hindi and some regional languages.
Books on several subjects including Dance, Drama, Music, Theatre, Sociology, Folklore, Tribal Studies, Indian History and Culture, Indian Art, Religion and Epics, Mythology, Anthropology and Reference works such as Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Yearbooks, Bibliographies, Indexes and Newspaper clippings about Academy Awards and eminent artistes in the field of performing arts, can be found here.
The library also maintains data files on awardees and fellows of the academy since its inception (1953) and along with those on other eminent personalities of the field.
[edit] Gallery of musical instruments
The academy also has a museum-cum-gallery of musical instruments in Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi. There are more than 200 musical instruments on display here.
[edit] Documentation Unit
It also has a documentation unit that collects and records works of masters in the field of music, dance and theatre on audio and video to help researchers. The academy also produces several in-house publications.
[edit] The Sangeet Natak Academy Awards
The academy awards are the highest national recognition given to practicing artistes. It carries a purse money is Rs. 50,000/-, a shawl and Tamrapatra (a brass plaque).
