CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
 

In the field of cultural activities, the Union Government since independence not only maintained and developed the institutions of national importance that were already in existence, but also set up a few new institutions to help maintain and develop the country's valuable cultural heritage as well as to promote cultural unity and emotional integration of the country. Housed in a building known as Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi, the three Akademis which were set up through Government Resolution and have since become autonomous bodies carry on extensive programme in arts, letters, dance, drama and music. A Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. H. J. Bhaba, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, was set up in March, 1964 to review the working of the three National Akademis and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The Committee has since submitted its report which is under consideration of the Union Government.

2. In addition, the Union Ministry also implements a few programmes to assist the State Governments. and private organisations in the fields. While museums, the Archaeological Survey of India, and libraries of cultural significance have been described in some other chapters, this chapter describes the activities of the Akademis and the scheme followed by the Ministry in the field.

A. NATIONAL AKADEMIS

3. Lalit Kala Akademi.-The Lalit Kala Akademi was set up to foster and coordinate activities in the sphere of visual and plastic arts and to promote thereby the cultural unity of the country. Inaugurated in August, 1954, the Akademi is now registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and functions as an autonomous organisation, entirely financed by the Union Government. Centering round the promotion of Visual and plastic arts, the main programme of the Akademi consists of organising exhibitions, bringing out publications, granting recognition and financial assistance to art organisations, copying frescoes, and giving awards to arists. The activities of the Akademi during the year are outlined in the paragraphs that follow:

3.1. Exhibitions.-In collaboration with the Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, the Akademi organised at its gallery, the Bahaus Exhibition, depicting through photographs, prints, etc., the story of a movement in Germany which aimed at an integrated development of fine and applied arts and of architecture. The Akademi presented another exhibition of the fresco copies made so far by different artists. Maps, charts and notes were also placed along with the copies, to give a clear idea to the visitors about the location and historical background of the places from which the copies were made-Badami, Sittanvasal, Kulu, Amber, Bairath and Bagh. The National Exhibition of Art will be held some time in February, 1965.

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3.2. Awards and Fellowships.-The Akademi gave ten awards and three Fellowships, one each for sculptor, painter and art historian, during the year 1964.

3.3. Publications.-Printing of Lalit Kala Contemporary Journal No. 2 has been completed. The Akademi also planned new portfolios which are expected to be ready soon along with the monograph oil Dhanraj Bhagat.

3.4. Conference.-Artists from all over India met at Hyderabad for a three-day conference, to discuss various problems of mutual interest in January, 1965. Besides the given theme of "New Visions in Contemporary Art", the artists also had deliberations on the Indian National Committee of the International Association of Plastic Arts and its activities, as also on the possibility of co-operation between artists and architects.

3.5. Camp.-The second Sculptors' Camp started at Mahabalipuram on January 18, 1965 will continue till the end of February. Besides about eight sculptors invited directly by the Akademi, a few more are expected to attend as observers, sponsored by different State Akademis. Like the earlier such programme at Makrana (Jaipur) in 1962, the Camp with participants drawn from all over India is sure to create a new stimulus and interest in the contemporary Indian sculpture.

3.6. Copying of Frescoes.-Tira-Sujanpur (Kangra), where copies are to be made next, has already been inspected and preliminary investigations completed. Work, at least in part,will begin soon and is expected to be over by next March.

3.7. Visitor from Abroad.- Mr. Parsamyan, an artist, critic and Secretary of the Board of Painters (U.S.S.R.), on arrival in the country, pursued a three-week programme implemented by the Akademi under the Indo-Soviet Cultural Exchange proposals.

3.8. Grants-in-aid to Recognised Art Societies and State Akademis. Grants totalling Rs. 1,21,500 have been sanctioned to institutions and State Akademis.

3.9. Programmes for 1965-66.-Programmes for 1965-66 will be on lines more or less similar to those followed in previous years. However, mention may be made of the following in particular :

(a) The Akademi is expecting a collection of contemporary British sculpture to be shown at four or five centres in India.

(b) India will be participating, through the Akademi, at 1965 Biennials in Paris and Sao Paulo.

(c) The de-protected monument, Bistidari Malcha, on the Ridge, Delhi, is likely to be put to regular use by artists, as working studios during the next working year.

4. Sahitya Akademi.-The Sahitya Akademi, financed wholly by the Union Government was set up to work actively for the development of Indian letters and to set high literacy standards, to foster and co- ordinate literarary activities in all the Indian languages and to promote through them all, the cultural unity of the country. Formally inaugurated on 12th March, 1954, the Akademi was subsequently registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The programme of the Akademi is mainly directed to meet the challenge posed by an anamoly of the multi-lingual Indian society that while Indian literature is one, writers and readers in one

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language hardly know anything of what is being written in other languages in the country. The Akademi, therefore, endeavours to devise ways and means whereby Indian writers may come to know one another across the barriers of language and script and where by the readers may gain access to the variety and complexity of the country's literary heritage. The programme adopted by the Akademi to meet his need comprises several significant activities, an outline of which is given in the paragraphs that follow.

4.1. Publication of Information Material on Literary Activities in all the Languages.-The Akademi has already published or has undertaken publications such as (1) Who's Who of Indian Writers, (2) National Bibliography of Indian Literature (1900-1953)-4 Volumes; (3) Histories of Literatures in the various Indian languages-9 volumes inclusive of translations; (4) Anthologies of poetry, short stories, one-act plays, essays, and folk-songs in each of the major Indian Languages-34 volumes inclusive of translations; (5) Selections of distinguished poets and authors in Indian languages; (6) Short informative biographies of eminent Indian writers and (7) Bilingual and multilingual dictionaries.

4.2. Publication of Translation of Literary Classics both Old and Modem from One Indian Language into the other Languages.-The Akademi has published 211 volumes of such translations.

4.3. Publication and Translation of Important Foreign Classics into all Indian Languages.-The classics selected for translation include world famous writings by Shakespeare, Milton, Walt Whitman, Thoreau, Moliere, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Goethe, Ibsen, Tolstoy and several others. The Akademi has already published 84 volumes of such translations.

4.4. Publication of Selected Works.-Publication of critical editions of Kalidasa's works, collected works in Urdu by the late Maulana Azad, representative short stories and poems from various Indian languages, and a comprehensive Anthology of Sanskrit Literature in seven volumes. A list of publications published by the Akademi is given at Annexure V.

4.5. Awards.-Annual Awards of Rs. 5,000 are given each to the most outstanding book of literary quality in each of the major Indian languages and English. During 1963, the Sahitya Akademi gave eleven awards in Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Thirteen awards for the year 1964 were announced on 17th January, 1965. These awards have been given for one book each in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Khannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oria, Punjabi, Telugu, Urdu, Sanskrit, (Research) and Sindhi.

4.6. Publication of Journals.-The Akademi published the following Journals viz. (1) Indian Literature (in English); (2) Samskrita Pratibha (in Sanskrit); (3) The Akademi also issues for free distribution a monthly News Bulletin, since January, 1964 to acquaint the general public with the activities of the Akademi.

4.7. Ten Years of the Sahitya Akademi Exhibition.-To mark the completion of ten years of its activity, the Sahitya Akademi organised an exhibition of books published by it during the decade at Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi. This Exhibition was later taken to the Parliament House.

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4.8. Shakespeare Seminar.-To participate in the world wide celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of the great English poet and dramatist, William Shakespeare, the Sahitya Akademi, in collaboration with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, held a special Seminar on Shakespeare which was inaugurated by the President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan on December 4, 1964. Four different aspects of Shakespeare's impact on India were taken up for discussion : What Shakespeare means to me; Teaching of Shakespeare Production of Shakespeare Plays and Shakespeare in Indian Languages.A large number of distinguished writers, scholars and theatre specialists from different parts of India including Mr. Douglas Blackett of the British Council and Mr. David Williams, Director, New Shakespeare Company of England read papers and participated in the discussion. The report containing all the papers read at the Seminar is under preparation and will be published in due course. The Akademi also published a Special Shakespeare Number of its six-monthly journal `Indian Literature'.

4.9. Plan for 1965-66.-The Akademi proposes to bring out a series on `Indian Men of Letters' in small volumes in English. The Series will include old and modern writers. The volumes will depict the work and life of an outstanding Indian writer who has made significant contribution to the development of literature in any Indian language. Some of the series likely to he published during 1965 are on : (1) Raja Rammohan Roy (Bengali) by Soumyendranath Tagore, (2) Tiruvalluvar (Tamil) by Mi Pa Somasundaram; (3) Vidyapati (Marathi) by Ramanath Jha; (4) Premchand (Hindi) by Amrit Rai; (5) Hari Narayan Apte (Marathi) by M. V. Rajadhyaksha; (6) Ilango Adigal (Tamil) by M. Varadarajan; and (7) Ghalib (Urdu) by M. Mujeeb. The Akademi also proposes to convert the six monthly journal `Indian Literature' into a quarterly in the coming year.

5. Sangeet Natak Akademi.-Like the other two Akademis, the Sangeet Natak Akademi was also set up to foster and develop Indian dance, drama and music and to promote through them the cultural unity of the country. Formally inaugurated in January, 1953, it is now registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is wholly financed by the Union Government. The main programme of the Akademi consists of coordinating the activities of State Akademis, promoting research in the fields of dance, drama and music, granting recognition and financial assistance to the institutions working in the fields, bringing out publications and giving awards to artists. The main activities of the Akademi during 1964-65 are described in the paragraphs that follow :

5.1. Awards and Fellowships.-The Akademi at a ceremony presided over by the President, conferred Fellowships on six artists including one woman and presented awards-3 in music for Karnatak Vocal, Karnatak Instrumental and Hindustani Vocal; 4 in Dance for Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Chakiar Koothu and Yakshagana and 2 in Drama for Drama Direction and Acting in Marathi. Besides, three plays in Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu were awarded prizes.

5.2. Cultural Programmes

(i) Lectures and Talks-Foreign dignitaries like Dr. M. M. Barkechli, Director, National Conservatoire of Music, Teheran, delivered a lecture on the Music of Iran on the 11th August, 1964. A series of three lectures, illustrated by tape and disc recording were delivered by Mr. Roger Ashton on the Music of Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan and Iran, Music of Turkey and

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Egypt and Music of Tunisia and Morocco. An illustrated talk on Mexican Folk Music was given by Mrs. Margit Alatorre at Rabindra Bhawan on the 25th November, 1964.

(ii) The Akademi jointly with the Siddhendra Kalakshetram, Kuchipudi celebrated the 301st Jayanti of Kshetragna, at Movva and the 550th Jayanti of Siddhendra at Kuchipudi.

(iii) The Akademi also arranged various cultural items including playback of recorded music of Jean Philippe Rameau, recital of the Compositions of Ramnad Srinivasa Iyengar and Bharatanatyam dance by Smt. M. K. Saroja during the year.

(iv) The Sangeet Natak Akademi in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi sponsored a Seminar on Shakespeare on the occasion of Quater- Centenary The seminar was inaugurated by the President at New Delhi. The programme included staging of famous Shakespearean dramas in English Urdu and Bengali by the New Shakespeare Company, London and other dramatic organisations.

(v) On the 5th January, 1965 the Sangeet Natak Akademi jointly with the Royal Netherlands Embassy in India presented a dramatic rendering by Nel Oosthout, the famous Dutch actress, of `Chandalika' by Tagore and `Rebel in Chains' by Theun De Vries.

(vi) A recital of Kuchipudi dance by Vedantam Satyanarain Sarma and his group and an exhibition of musical instruments belonging to the family of Ustad Vilayat Khan, will be organised in Delhi before the end the year.

(vii) The National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute staged Strindberg's `The Father' and `Oedipus Rex' in September, 1964.

5.3. Special Meeting.-A meeting of the Chairman of the State Sangeet Natak Akademis was held under the chairmanship of H. H. Maharaja Shri Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar Bahadur at Ootacamund on 25th September, 1964 to discuss, among others, measures to be taken for co- ordination of the activities of the State Akademis with the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi.

5.4. Participation in International Conferences.-The Secretary of the Akademi represented India at a conference on Arab Music organised by the Government of Iraq held at Baghdad in November, 1964.

5.5. Institutions run by the Akademi.-The Sangeet Natak Akademi runs two institutions, namely, (1) The National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute, New Delhi and (ii) The Manipuri Dance College, Imphal.

5.6. Biographies of Musicians Eminent in their Respective Fields.-Biographies of Shri Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Anjani Bai Malpekar, Ustad Altaf Hussain, Pt. Mirashi Bua, Pt. Anand Bua and Pt. Onkarnath Thakur have been edited and are expected to be published in the course of the year. The publications viz., a 'Who's who' of Indian musicians and the Geeti Bharati in Bengali and Kannada are in the final stages of printing. Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan's `Indian Dances in Classical Literature and Art' is also expected to be out shortly.

5.7. Recording of Classical Music by Distinguished Exponents.-The Akademi has also a scheme for the collection of Dhrupads of the Tansen family from the Gauripur Music Trust, Calcutta.

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5.8. Dictionary of Technical Terms.-Work on the compilation of terms and texts made substantial progress during the year.

5.9. Seminar etc.-A seminar of Northern and Southern Music is proposed to be held in Madras in collaboration with the Music Akademi in March, 1965. A symposium on `Theatre Training' is also proposed to be held towards the end of March, 1965.

5.10. Financial Assistance to the Institutions.-Financial assistance to the extent of Rs. 5,69,205 was sanctioned to institutions working in the field of dance, drama and music during 1964-65.

5.11. Institutions Selected for Larger Financial Assistance.-The Kathak Section of the Bhartiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi was taken over by the Akademi as the nucleus of a National School of Kathak Dance with effect from 1st October, 1964.

5.12. Activities During 1965-66.-Of the projects proposed to be taken up during 1965-66 by the Akademi, the following deserve mention :

(i) A new institution is proposed to be taken over during 1965-66, to be constituted into a National institution, either of music or dance. The Akademi has in view the preparation of documentary films on two noted Indian dancers and an Asian Seminar and Festival of Music, Dance and Drama.

(ii) The schemes suggested for inclusion in the fourth Five-Year Plan are :

(a) An intensive, country-wise survey (including tapeing and filming) of folk music, folk dance and folk drama of India.

(b) A translation programme for all the major treatises dealing with music, dance and drama, starting with the Natya Sastra, to be called the Sangeet Natak Akademi Series.

(c) Preparation of a comprehensive Handbook of ragas and a companion Handbook of Talas in Hindustani and Kar- natak Music and filming? the repertoire of outstanding exponents of traditional dance forms.

B. PROGRAMME OF ASSISTANCE TO STATE GOVERNMENTS, ORGANISATIONS/INDIVIDUAL WORKERS

6. Cultural Exchanges.-The main objects of the three schemes covered under this programme, are to promote cultural cultural and emotional integration of the country and provide opportunities to the people of a State to get an idea of the cultural heritage of the people of other States and to provide entertainment to the Armed Forces on India's frontiers. The three schemes are :

6.1. Inter-State Exchange of Cultural Troupes.-Under this scheme, troupes from 13 States visited other States during 1963-64 and in all 25 visits took place. During 1964-65, a troupe each from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Maharashtra visited two other States till December, 1964. Troupes from Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madras and West Bengal are expected to visit two other States each by the end of March, 1965.

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6.2. Cultural Exchanges of Outstanding Artists/Troupes Amongst the Zones of India.-The performances under this Scheme are arranged directly by the State Governments and the visits are normally reported to the Government of India if a State Government claims the grant admissible under the Scheme to cover the deficit on arranging the performances or when any artists not covered by the scheme is invited to give performances. Intimation has been so far received of a performance in Jammu and Kashmir.