View source for Culture: Indian government data

=INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE=
==LALIT KALA AKADEMI==
To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside
the country, the Government of India established Lalit Kala Akademi (National
Akademi of Arts) at New Delhi on 5 August 1954. The Akademi has regional centres
called Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendras at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi in New
Delhi, Shimla and Bhubaneswar with workshop facilities in painting, sculpture,
print-making and ceramics.

Since its inception, the Akademi has been organising national exhibition of
contemporary Indian art with 15 national awards, each of Rs. 50,000. Every three
year, the Akademi also organises Triennial India, an International exhibition of
contemporary art in New Delhi. Since 1955, the Akademi has organised 52 National
Exhibitions of Art has presented the National Award to 545 artists.

The Akademi honours eminent artists and art historians every year by electing
them as Fellows of the Akademi. To propagate Indian art outside, the Akademi
regularly participates in International Biennials and Triennials abroad and also
organises exhibitions of works of art from other countries. To foster contracts with
artists from outside, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the
various Cultural Exchange Programmes and Agreements of the Government.

The Lalit Kala Akademi accords recognition to art institutions/associations
and extends financial assistance to these bodies as well as State Academies. It also
gives scholarships to deserving young artists belonging to its regional centres. Under
its publication programme, the Akademi brings out monographs on the works of
Indian contemporary artists in Hindi and English and books on contemporary,
traditional, folk and tribal arts authored by eminent writers and art critics. The
Akademi also brings out bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English),
Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). Apart from these, it brings
out large size multi-colour reproductions of contemporary paintings and graphics
from time to time. The Akademi has started a regular programme on research and
documentation. Scholars are given financial assistance to undertake projects in
contemporary projects on various aspects of Indian society and culture.

==SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI==
Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama,
may be regarded as a pioneer in the process of creation of modern India that led
politically to India’s freedom in 1947. The ephemeral quality of the arts, and the
need for their preservation led to the adapting of a democratic system in which a
common man had the opportunity to learn, practice and propagate the art. Within
the first few decades of the twentieth century, public perception of responsibility
for both preservation and development of the arts had started inclining towards
the state.

The first comprehensive public appeal to government in this direction was
made in 1945, when the Asiatic Society of Bengal submitted a proposal for the
creation of a National Cultural Trust consisting of three academies - an Academy of
Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters, and an Academy of Art and
Architecture.

The entire question was reconsidered after independence, in a Conference on
Art held in Kolkata in 1949, and two Conferences, on Letters, and the other on
Dance, Drama, and Music, held in New Delhi in 1951. These Conferences convened
by the Government of India finally recommended the creation of three national
academies: an Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, an Academy of Letters and
an Academy of Art.

The National Academy of Dance, Drama, and Music, named Sangeet Natak
Akademi, was the first of these entities to be established by a resolution of the
Ministry of Education, headed by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, signed on 31 May
1952. On 28 January 1953, Sangeet Natak Akademi was inaugurated by the
then President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.

The Akademi’s charter of functions contained in the 1952 resolution was
expanded along the original lines in 1961, when Sangeet Natak Akademi was
reconstituted by the Government as a society and registered under the Societies
registration Act of 1860 (as amended in 1957). These functions are set down in the
Akademi’s Memorandum of Association, adopted at its registration as a society on
11 September 1961.

Since its inception the Akademi has worked towards building up a unified
structure of support for the practice of music, dance and drama in India. This support
encompasses 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 India. The great masters of the performing arts have been elected
as Fellows of the Akademi. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards conferred annually
on eminent artists and scholars are considered the most coveted honours in the
field of 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 do
researchers, authors and publishers in relevant disciplines.

The extensive recording and filming of the performing arts carried on by the
Akademi since its inception have resulted in a large archive of audio-and videotape,
16-mm film, photographs and transparencies, and remains the single most
important resource for researchers in the field of performing arts of India.

The Akademi’s Gallery of Musical Instruments has a collection of more than
600 instruments of prominence and has been the source of a great deal of published
documentation over the years. The library of Sangeet Natak Akademi receives about
150 Indian and Foreign Periodicals. The total collection of the Library now stands
at 24506 books. The Audio Visual library includes a large number of discs, casettes
and audio & video CDs. The collection of Audio visuals now stands 9827 discs, 761
pre recorded cassettes from the archives of Akademi, 92 video cassettes of dance,
drama, music.

The Akademi also establishes and looks after institutions and projects of
national importance in the field of performing arts. Chronologically, the Jawaharlal
Nehru Manipuri Dance Academy in Imphal, the premier institution in Manipuri
dance and music established in 1954, is the first of these institutions. In 1959 the
Akademi established the National School of drama 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, which commenced in 1991 received recognition
from UNESCO as a Master piece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in
2001. The project on Chhau dance of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal began in
1994. The project support to Sattriya music, dance, theatre and allied arts of Assam
was started in 2002.

As the apex body specialising in the performing arts, the Akademi also renders
advice and assistance to the Government of India in the task of formulating and
implementing policies and projects in the field. Additionally, the Akademi carries a
part of the responsibilities of the State for fostering cultural contacts between various
regions in India, and between India and other countries. The Akademi has held
exhibitions and major festivals in foreign countries.