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Sangeet Natak Akademi awards on 6 July in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The president of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam will give away the Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship awards 2003 on 6 July 2003 at a function organised in Mumbai’s Nehru Centre. The chief minister of Maharashtra and other top officials will also preside over the function. The Akademi has invited all the leading television news channels to cover the function and focus on the nominated 27 eminent artists who will receive 25 Akademi awards (including a joint award) this year.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi – the national academy for music, dance and drama – honours each year eminent practitioners of music, dance and drama and also those who serve arts with distinction.
The general council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi under the chairmanship of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika has elected Dr Shanno Khurana, eminent musician and scholar, and Kavalam Narayana Panikkar, eminent personality of theatre and performing arts traditions of Kerala as fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
“India’s precious heritage of music, drama and dance is something which we must cherish and develop. We must do so not only for our sake but as our contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. Nowhere is it truer than in the field of art. We must all strive to sustain means to create traditions that cannot be preserved but can only be created afresh. It is the aim of the Akademi to preserve the traditions by offering an institutional form,” Dr Hazarika says.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship is restricted to 30 living artistes/scholars at any given point of time.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi awards have been conferred from 1952. They symbolise the highest standard of excellence and achievement on a national basis; recognise sustained individual work of high professional order and contribution to the practice and appreciation of these arts through performance ,teaching and scholarship.
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Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
