New Delhi: The Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, announced the recipients of its prestigious honours, the Akademi Ratna (Fellowship), Akademi Puraskar and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, for 2024 and 2025. 

Eleven artistes and scholars from Karnataka figure in the list of awardees. The awards are regarded as the country’s highest national recognition for practising artistes and scholars in the performing arts. 

Senior mridanga exponent A.V. Anand is among the seven recipients of Akademi Ratna. Renowned filmmaker T.S. Nagabharana and veteran Yakshagana artiste Keremane Shivananda Hegde have been selected for the Akademi Puraskar for 2024. 

Among the recipients of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar are Hindustani vocalist Mahalakshmi Shenoy, Sugama Sangeetha singer Shivashri Skandaprasad (both for 2024) and Bharatanatyam artiste Mukkatira Shilpa Nanjappa of Kodagu (2025). 

Other awardees from Karnataka include Anur Ananthakrishna Sharma, Vidushi T.S. Satyavathi, Jyothi Hegde, Veena Murthy Vijay and folk scholar S.C. Sharma. 

The Akademi Ratna carries a cash award of Rs. 3 lakh and a citation, while the Akademi Puraskar comprises Rs. 1 lakh and a citation. The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 along with a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram. 

A.V. Anand (Akademi Ratna) 

Veteran mridanga artiste A.V. Anand, a native of Hassan, began performing at a young age and had the distinction of accompanying Mysore Asthana Vidwan and violin maestro Piteel Chowdiah when he was just 11.  

An ‘A’ grade artiste of Akashvani, Anand has trained several generations of students and has been honoured with awards including Karnataka Kalashri and Layabhushana. 

T.S. Nagabharana (Akademi Puraskar) 

Acclaimed filmmaker and theatre personality T.S. Nagabharana, a native of Talakad in Mysuru district, has rendered more than four decades of service to cinema and theatre.  

He has won numerous State and National awards as both director and actor. His acclaimed films, such as ‘Mysuru Mallige’, ‘Chigurida Kanasu’ and ‘Nagamandala’ are considered landmarks in Kannada cinema. 

Keremane Shivananda Hegde (Akademi Puraskar) 

Hailing from Gunavante in Uttara Kannada district, Keremane Shivananda Hegde is one of the foremost Yakshagana artistes of the State.  

He has performed in over 1,000 shows and is also trained in Kathak, Manipuri war dance and other folk traditions. He is known for portraying both male and female roles with equal ease. 

Mahalakshmi Shenoy (Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar) 

A native of Karkala in Udupi district, Mahalakshmi Shenoy is an accomplished Hindustani vocalist who has performed more than 1,500 concerts across India and abroad. She is a disciple of Grammy Award-winning Hindustani music maestro Pandit Vishwamohan Bhat. 

Shivashri Skandaprasad (Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar) 

A noted Karnatak vocalist, bhajan and Abhanga singer, Shivashri Skandaprasad has earned recognition for taking India’s spiritual and cultural traditions to audiences across the world. She is married to Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya. 

Vidushi T.S. Satyavathi 

A distinguished Karnatak music scholar and Sanskrit scholar, T.S. Satyavathi is widely respected for her authoritative writings and lectures on music and allied arts. She is popularly known by the title ‘Ganakalashree’. 

Jyothi Hegde 

Jyothi Hegde is among the few artistes proficient in playing the rare Rudra Veena. A postgraduate in music from Karnatak University, Dharwad, she is also an accomplished sitar player. 

Veena Murthy Vijay 

An accomplished Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Veena Murthy Vijay founded Rajarajeshwari Kalaniketana, where she has trained hundreds of students in classical dance and music. 

S.C. Sharma 

A noted folk scholar, S.C. Sharma has served in Universities at various levels and has made significant contributions to folk studies. He has received several awards and recognitions for his work. 

Anur Ananthakrishna Sharma 

Popularly known as ‘Shivu’ in music circles, Anur Ananthakrishna Sharma is a renowned mridanga artiste and former Chairman of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy. He hails from a family of musicians. His father Anur Ramakrishna was a noted violinist.