Four artistes from northeast on list of Akademi fellows and awardees

GUWAHATI: Four personalities from the northeast are among those who have been named for Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2011. The announcement was made by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
While Manipuri dance guru Rajkumar Singhajit Singh and theatre director Heisnam Kanhailal have been chosen for the Akademi Fellowship, Tripura's 'putul naach' exponent Gopal Chandra Das and Manipuri dance exponent Priti Patel have been selected for the Akademi Award.
President Pranab Mukherjee will confer the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards on October 9 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Manipuri dance guru Singhajit Singh and theatre personality Kanhailal are among 11 personalities named for the Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour of Sangeet Natak Akademi. They will receive purse money of Rs three lakh, an 'angavastram' and a 'tamrapatra'.
Das has been named for the Akademi Award for his contribution to Tripura's 'putul naach'. He is among the eight artistes who will receive the award for their contribution to the traditional, folk, tribal music, dance, theatre and puppetry.
Among the nine eminent personalities who were selected for the prestigious award in the field of dance, is Priti Patel for Manipuri classical dance. Others in this category are Alekhya Punjala (Kuchipudi), Ramli Ibrahim (Odissi), V K Hymavathy (Mohiniattam), Tanusree Shankar (Creative & Experimental Dance) and Karaikudi R Krishnamurthy (Music for Dance - Mridangam).
Das and Patel will be honoured with purse money of Rs one lakh each, besides an 'angavastram' and a 'tamrapatra' each.
Sangeet Natak Akademi also announced the award for nine musicians and eight theatre personalities. Others who were also named for the award include Shrivatsa Goswami for his contribution to performing arts, Alakhnandan for theatre direction and Sundari Krishnalal Shridharani for overall contribution.
The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Akademi Award (Akademi Puraskar) are recognized as the highest national honours conferred on performing artists, gurus and scholars of the performing arts. These honours are decided by the Akademi's General Council, the apex body consisting of eminent artistes, scholars and nominees of the Centre and of different states and Union territories.
The Akademi Fellowships and Awards 2011 presentation ceremony will be followed by a festival of music, dance and drama from October 9 to 16 in New Delhi featuring the fellows and the awardees. 'Memoirs of Africa', directed by Heisnam Kanhailal of Kalakshetra, will be staged during the festival.