Imphal, January 14 2009: TWO MANIPURI artistes Ningombam Ibobi Singh and Leitanthem Heramot Meitei were selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar (awards) for the year 2008 in the field of Nata Sankirtana and Thang-ta, the popular martial arts.

Surprisingly, no personality has been selected in the field of Manipuri dance this year.

The Nata Sankritana artist Ningombam Ibobi Singh of Khongman was a Pung Guru of erstwhile Shri Shri Govin-dajee Nartalaya and retired as lecturer of the Government Dance College while Leithanthem Heramot Meetei of Kongpal is a renowned Manipuri martial artist.

Akademi Puruskar (award) carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 besides Tamrapatra and Angavastram while Akademi Ratna carries a award of Rs1 lakh.

The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama at its meeting in New Delhi on January 10 last selected four eminent personalities in the field of performing arts-Sitara Devi, Khaled Choudhury, RC Mehta and Bhupen Hazarika as Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna (Akademi Fellows) while 34 practitioners of Music, Dance, and Theatre for the Akademi Puraskar (Aka-demi Awards) for the year 2008 .

In the field of Music, eight eminent artists Ulhas Kashalkar and MR Gautam for Hindustani Vocal Music; Ramesh Mishra (Sarangi) and Krishna Ram Chaudhary (Sheh-nai) for Hindustani Instrumental Music; Puranam Purushottama Sastri for Carnatic Vocal; B Sasi Kumar (Violin) and Manrgudi A Easwaran (Mridangam) for Carnatic Instrumental Music and Ningombam Ibobi Singh (Nata Sankirtana, Manipur) for Other Major Traditions of Music have been selected.

In the field of Dance, nine eminent practitioners-Saroja Vaidyanathan, Bha-ratanatyam; Shashi Shan-khla, Kathak; Kalamandalam Kuttan, Katha-kali; Ramani Ranjan Jena, Odissi; Vasanta Lakshmi & Narasimhachari (Joint Award), Kuchipudi; Kalamandalam Leelamma, Mohiniattam; Yog Sunder Desai, Creative & Experimental Dance and Ramhari Das, Music for Dance (Odissi) have been selected.

In the field of theatre also eight eminent persons Markand Bhatt and Arundhati Nag for Acting, S Ramanujam and Probir Guha for Direction, Mudra Rakshas (Hindi) and Narsingh Dev Jamwal (Dogri) for Playwriting, Amba Sanyal for Allied Theatre Arts (Costume Designing) and Bansi Lal Khiladi (Khayal, Rajasthan) for Major Traditions of Theatre have been selected.

For their contribution to Other Traditional/Folk/ Tribal Music/ Dance/ Theatre, Shakun-tala Nagarkar, Lavani (Maharastra); Birbar Sahoo, Gotipua (Orissa); Mangi Bai Arya, Mand (Rajasthan); L Heramot Meitei, Thang-Ta (Martial Art, Manipur); Lakha Khan Manganiyar, Folk Music (Rajasthan); Hildamit Lepcha, Lepcha Music (Sikkim); Kartar Singh, Gurbani (Punjab) and Lakshman Das, Hari Katha (Karnataka) have been selected.

.RSatyanarayana of Kartanaka has been selected for his contribution to Scholarship in Performing Arts.

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