Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s national academy of music, dance and drama, is a pioneer in the creation of modern India. The ephemeral quality of the arts and the need for their preservation led to the adapting of a democratic system in which the common man had the opportunity to learn, practice and propagate the arts. In 1945, the Asiatic Society of Bengal submitted a proposal for the creation of a National Cultural Trust consisting of three academies-an academies of dance, drama and music; an academy of letters and an academy of art and architecture.
It led to the creation of three national academies after independence. The national Academy named Sangeet Natak Akademi was the first of these entities to be established by a resolution of the Ministry ofEducation. In 1961, the Sangeet Natak Akademi was reconstituted by the government as a society and registered under the Societies Registration Act,1860 (as amended in 1957).
The Akademi works towards building up a unified structure of support for the practice of music, dance and drama in India encompassing traditional and modern forms, and urban as well as rural environments. The festivals of music, dance and drama presented or promoted by the Akademi are held all over the country. The great masters of the performing arts have been elected as Fellows of the Akademi. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards conferred annually eminent artists and scholars are considered the most coveted honours in the field of the performing arts. Thousands of institutions across the country, including many in the remote areas, engaged in teaching or promotion of music, dance and theatre, have received financial assistance for their work from the Akademi, as researchers, authors and publishers in relevant disciplines.
The Akademi has a large archive of audio and videotapes, 16-mm films, photographs and transparencies and remains the single most important resource for researchers in the field of performing arts of India. The Akademi maintains a reference library consisting of books in English, Hindi and some regional languages. Akademi’s publication unit publishes literature on relevant subjects on a small scale. The Akademi establishes and looks after institutions and projects of national importance in the field of the performing arts.
The Jawaharlal Nehru ManipurDance Academy (JNMDA) in Imphal, the premier institution in the teaching of Manipuri dance and music, established in 1954, is the first of these institutions. In 1959, the Akademi established the National School of Drama and the AsianTheatre Institute; and in 1964, the Kathak Kendra, both being based in Delhi. The Akademi’s other projects of national importance are in Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala, commenced in 1991. Kutiyattam was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2001. The project onChhau dance of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal began in 1994.
The project support to Sattriya music, dance, theatre and allied arts of Assam was started in2002. Being the apex body specializing in the performing arts, the Akademi also advises and assists the Government of India in formulating and implementing policies and programmes in the field of the performing arts. It fosters cultural contacts nationally and internationally. The Akademi has held exhibitions and major festivals in foreign countries to foster cultural contact between India and the world.