Awards conferred on dance exponents
Visakhapatnam: Padmabhushan recipient Dr Sarojini Vaidhyanathan said that this year’s International Women’s Day has reached its greatest heights. The Dance India, a cultural magazine, gave away the International Women’s Day Awards-2018 to dance exponents at the Kala Bharathi Auditorium with the support of Andhra Pradesh Culture and Tourism Department on Thursday.
Sarojini Vaidhyanathan was the chief guest at the programme Speaking on the occasion, she said that bringing the richness of Indian art and culture from across the globe and honoring the art exponents on the occasion of International Women’s Day gave her immense pleasure and it remains as one of the most defining moments of her life.
“In this modern era, giving utmost prominence to Indian art and culture has become a distinct thought. But it is quiet astonishing that an entity like ‘The Dance India’ is taking the initiative to protect, promote and document the essence of Indian heritage and culture,” Sarojini Vaidhyanathan said.
Speaking on the occasion, former principal secretary Dr Chellappa said that on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, The Dance India has taken a good step to privilege a few art exponents who have given their best for the benefit of the Indian culture in all art forms.
The Dance India International Women’s Day Awards-2018 has allocated four columns such as Torch Bearers, Beacons of Light, Rays of Hope and Kindled Spirits Awards wherein four art exponents are categorised into these columns.
The Torch Bearers Awards has been conferred on Padmashree Chitra Visweswaran from Tamil Nadu for Bharatanatyam, N Amusana Devi from Manipur for Manipuri dance and Sujata Mohapatra from Odisha for Odissi dance. Beacons of Light Awards given to Shallu Jindal from New Delhi for Kuchipudi, Voleti Rangamani from (Simhanandini) Hyderabad for Kuchipudi and Suparna Venkatesh from Bengaluru for Bharatanatyam.
The Rays of Hope Awards given to Kashmira Trivedi from Maharashtra for Bharatanatyam, Geeta Narayan from Visakhapatnam for Bhartanatyam, Alka Sah from New Delhi for Bharatanyam. The Kindled Spirits Awards given to Prerna Gangopadhyay from West Bengal for Bharatanatyam, Ishita Pai Raikar from Singapore for Bharatanatyam and Arpita Sen Lahiri from West Bengal for Bharatanatyam.