CHAPTER XIV FINE ARTS
The two national Akademies, namely, Sangeet Natak and Lalit Kala, continued to carry out extensive programmes in their respective, fields of performing arts and plastic arts. A brief account of their activities is given below :
A.SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI 2. The Akademi, which is the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, was set up by the Government of India in 1953 and was subsequently registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 with its registered office at New Delhi.
3. The objects for which the Akademi was set up are coordi- nation of the activities of regional or State akademies of music, dance and drama; promotion of research in the fields of the performing arts; encouragement and exchange of ideas and enrichment of techniques between the different regions of the country in regard to the arts of music, dance and drama as well as fostering cultural contacts between India and other countries.
4. Among other things, the Akademi annually gives awards to distinguished exponents of the three performing arts and honours them by electing them as Fellows of the Akademi. The Akademi also gives financial assistance to the various institutions in the fields of music, dance and drama for their various development projects. The Akademi also accords recognition to institutions working in this field.
5. Homage to Tyagaraja: The Sangeet Natak Akademi observed the Bi-Centenary of Shri Tyagaraja during 1967. The festivities were planned on a national level and organised at different centres. The festival included music concerts by eminent musicians, seminars on the life and works of Tyagaraja and competitions for young artistes in the compositions of Tyagaraja.
6. A two-day seminar on the life and works of Tyagaraja was organized at Delhi. Learned scholars were invited to participate in the deliberations who spoke about the rich contributions of Sri Tyagaraja.
7. A three-day commemorative Music Festival featuring Smt. M. L. Vasanthakumari (Vocal), Sri S. Balachander (Veena) and Sri Embar Vijayaraghavachariar (Harikatha) was presented at Delhi on the 15th, 16th and 17th May, 1967.
(131)
132
8. An exhibition of photographs, manuscripts and publications on the life and works of Tyagaraja was also organised during the celebrations. The exhibition was shown round in other towns of the country.
9. Chhau Dances: On September 21 and 22, 1967 the Sangeet Natak Akademi organized a programme of Chhau Dance. Of the, two prominent styles of Chhau Dance, this programme was exclusively devoted to the Mayurbhanj style. A lecture demonstration on 'The Techniques of Chhau Dance' was also organized on the occasion.
10. Other Activities:
(1) The Sangeet Natak Akademi sponsored a lecture-demonstration. on "a Structural and Formal approach to Choreography" by an American Choreographer, Miss Anna R. Nassif, (Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin) on 29th May 1967.
(2) Four documentary films 'Ustad Allauddin Khan' 'Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan', 'Folk Entertainers of Rajasthan; and Folk Instruments of Rajasthan' were screened for the members of the General Council, art-critics etc. on 4-7-67. The first two films were produced by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
(3) The National School of Drama presented a Festival of plays. The plays presented were : Waiting for Godot, Andha Yug, Tughlaq, Antigone and three one-act plays.
11. Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards--1967: The General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akedemi which met on the 18th December, 1967 in Delhi under the Chairmanship of Smt. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, selected eight eminent scholars and artistes for the Akademi Fellowships and ten artistes for the Akademi Awards 1967 in the fields of music, dance and drama. The Akademi awards have been made for the first time in Nautanki-a traditional theatre form of Uttar Pradesh and Bhagvata Mela of Mysore.
Fellowships
1. Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale
2. Shri Shambhu Maharaj
3. Guru Kunju Kurup
4. Shri Bade Gulam Ali Khan
5. Shri Musiri Subramanya Iyer
133
6. Shri Adya Rangacharya 'Shriranga'
7. Shri E. Elkazi
8. Shri Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma
Awards 1967
Music (1) Shri Ayodhya Prasad Hindustani Instrumental
(Pakhawaj)
(2) Shri Amir Khan Hindustani Vocal
(3) Shri K.S. Venkataramiah 'Papa' Karnatak Instrumental
(Violin)
(4) Shri Chintalapally Venkata Rao Karnatak Vocal
DANCE (5) Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Kathakali
(6) Shri Balu Rhagavathar Bhagavata Mela
DRAMA (7) Shri P. L. Deshpande Play-writing
(8) Shri Sabitabrata Dutta Acting in Bengali
(9) Shri S.V. Sahasranamam Acting in Tamil
(10) Shri Shree Krishna Khattri
Pehalwan Nautanki
12. The selected artistes received the Awards and Fellowships from the President of India at a special ceremony held in February, 1968. The Akademi also organised on this occasion a festival of music and dance featuring some of the honoured artistes.
13. Publications: A special number of the Akademi journal "SANGEET NATAK" during 1967-68 is proposed to be dedicated to Sri Tyagaraja. The Akademi will also publish 200 select Kritis of Tyagaraja in Devanagari script with text and notations.
14. Three publications subsidised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi were brought out during the year, the details of which are given in Annexure III.
15. "SANGEET NATAK 5", the first number of the quarterly journal came out early in December, 1967. Formerly this journal was bi- annual.
16. Archives: During the year many a valuable additions were made to the archives of classical music and folk music from various regions.
17. Library: The Sangeet Natak Akademi Library which until recently functioned exclusively as a reference library was thrown open to the public after office hours (from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.). The Listening Room. which provides music listening facilities for research purposes, is also kept open for the use of the general public.
134
18. Funds : The Revised estimates for 1967-68 were Rs. 16,53,100 (Non-Plan) and Rs. 1,20,000 (Plan). The Non-Plan provision inter alia includes Rs. 4,00,000 for disbursement as grants to cultural institutions in the fields of dance, drama and music; Rs. 3,77,000 for the National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute, New Delhi; Rs. 68,000 for the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal; and Rs. 1,82,000 for the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. The last named institution is managed by the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi, and financed by the Akademi.
B. LALIT KALA AKADEMI 19. 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 registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
20. Centring 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 artists. The activities of the Akademi are outlined below.
21. The Akademi prepared 10 publications and sent them to press for printing. Out of these, 4 publications, namely, (1) Lalit Kala Contemporary Journal No. 6, (2) Chamba Painting, (3) Portfolio No. 4, and (4) Khitindranath Mazumdar, have already been published and put on sale. Two publications-monographs on Gopal Ghose and Sreenivasulu-are ready in press; and the remaining 4 publications, (1) Lalit Kala Contemporary No. 7 and 8 (Special Triennale Number), (2) Monographs on B. C. Sanyal, (3) Venkatappa, and (4) Thakur Singh are still in press.
22. Catalogues of various exhibitions held in the Lalit Kala Galleries i.e. British Exhibition of Painting, American Exhibition of Designing and Publicity Materials, Australian Exhibition, etc., were also published.
23. Sale of publications during the period amounted to about Rs. 80,000.
24. The library and the reading room of the Akademi, which are open to the general public, were continued to be widely used. The Library has proved specially useful as a source of reference for research students, both Indian and foreign, in the field of art, architecture and applied art. During the year, 153 copies of new titles and 275 slides were added to the library.
135
25. A Lending Library of Works of Art has also been opened. Conference and meetings of artists and art critics were arranged for exchange of ideas. Illustrated lectures were also arranged for the benefit of the artistes, scholars, etc.
26. Exhibitions: A unique exhibition of American paintings, the first ever to visit India, consisting of 97 works of thirty-four artists, was held in the Lalit Kala Galleries.
27. Selected works of Contemporary Indian Art representing the work of 11 artists were sent to the Ninth Biennale of the Sao Paulo, Brazil.
28. Many one-man shows, including that of young artists were held in the Akademi Gallery.
29. The First Triennale of Contemporary World Art organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi with the cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Education, was inaugurated by the President of India on February 10, 1968. The Triennale will provide a platform for a representative selection of World Art in a manner similar to Venice Biennale and the Sao Paulo Biennale. Invitations on State level for international participation have been sent to several countries and some 35 countries are participating. Exhibits for the Indian Section of this Triennale have been completed by two commis- sioners appointed by the Akademi specially for this purpose, who went round to important cities for selection of exhibits with the assistance of advisers in the respective centres.
30. Artists Aid Fund which has been built up gradually with the contributions made by the artists at 10% of the sale proceeds of their exhibits sold at the National Exhibition of Art amounted to over Rs. 16,000 on 31st December, 1967.
31. The National Exhibition of Art was inaugurated in Lucknow on 19th January, 1968 and the ten works adjudged best were awarded cash award of Rs. 1,000 each, besides a Gold Plaque for the top best.
C. PROGRAMME OF ASSISTANCE TO STATE GOVERNMENTS, ORGANISATIONS,
INDIVIDUALS/WORKERS 32. inter-State Exchange of Cultural Troupes: This scheme was introduced in 1959. The main object of the scheme is to promote the emotional and cultural integration of the country. Under the scheme, cultural troupes selected by the State Governments, etc., are enabled to visit other States so that they can project their culture to other States. So far, troupes from
136
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madras and Rajasthan have visited other States. A few other visits have also been planned.
33. Cultural Troupes for Entertainment of Armed Forces: This scheme was introduced in 1963. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide entertainment to the armed forces stationed in the forward areas by sponsoring the visit of cultural troupes. So far, troupes from Delhi and Gujarat have visited the forward areas.
34. A conference of liaison officers of State Governments and Union Administrations and/or leaders of cultural troupes and representatives of the Ministry of Defence was held in New Delhi on 24th June, 1967, to review the working and to discuss the problems connected with the implementation of the following cultural schemes operated in the Ministry: (a) Inter-State Exchange of Cultural Troupes; and (b) Sponsoring of Cultural Troupes for the Entertainment of the Armed Forces in the Forward Areas. The Conference made certain recommendations for modifying the scheme, "Inter-State exchange of cultural troupes", which are under consideration.
35. Promotion of Drama Movement: A provision of Rs. 30,000 exists in the budget for 1967-68 for giving financial assistance to deserving theatre groups on ad hoc basis and also to meet past commitments under the schemes of "Assistance to 'Theatres for Production of New Plays and Study Travel Grants to Theatre Groups", which has since been discontinued. A sum of Rs. 30,000 has also been provided for 1968-69 for this purpose.
36. Shanker's International Children's Competitions: This competition, organised annually at the capital, is assisted by the Ministry by way of meeting the deficit incurred in arranging the Children's Art Competition, Children's Art Exhibition, On-the-Spot Painting Competition, and publication of Children's Art Number and Album, and prize distribution. The Competition is run by the children's Book Trust, New Delhi. A provision of Rs. 1,50,000 exists for 1967-68 and an amount of Rs. 1,50,000 has been provided for 1968- 69.
37. Grants to Cultural Organisations : Cultural organiza- tions/societies are assisted financially under the scheme for con- ducting their activities. Grants are also sanctioned, on ad hoc basis, to cultural societies in deserving cases for purposes not covered by specific schemes of the Ministry and also for which no grants are admissible from the National Akademies. A provision of Rs. 3,75,000 exists for the, purpose in the Revised Estimates for 1967-68.
137
38. Grants are also given to various cultural organizations in the country towards meeting their expenditure on the construction of buildings. A provision of Rs. 2,00,000 exists for the purpose under the scheme during the current financial year.
39. Financial Assistance to Eminent Writers, Artists, etc. in Indigent Circumstances: This scheme was originally introduced during 1952-53 and was revised in April 1961. All grants under the scheme are given on sharing basis--State and Central Governments bearing the expenditure in the ratio of 1 : 2. Expenditure on grantees from Union Territories is borne entirely by the Centre. During the year, about 100 fresh grants were awarded to writers, artists, etc. on the recommendation of the State Government. A provision of Rs. 5.60 lakh exists for this scheme in the budget as revised estimates for 1967-68.
D. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS The following financial provisions have been made
Sl. Provision for 1967-68 Budget
No. Scheme Estimates
Original Revised 1968-69
1. Lalit Kala Akademi 10,50,000 10,24,500 9,00,000
2. Sangeet Natak Akademi
Plan 5,08,000 1,20,000 2,00,000
Non-Plan 15,57,000 16,53,000 19,39,500
3. Cultural Exchanges
(a) Inter-State Exchange of
Cultural Troupes 1,75,000 1,75,000 2,00,000
(b) Cultural Troupes to
Forward Areas
4. Building Grants to Cultural
Organizations
(Plan) 1,90,000 2,00,000 4,00,000
5. Assistance to Theatres etc. 60,000 30,000 30,000
6. Grants to Shankar's Inter-
national Children's Competition 1,50,000 1,50,000 1,50,000
7. Open-Air Theatre Purana Qila 1,00,000
8. Encouragement to Professional
Theatres 10,000 10,000 -
9. Grants to Cultural Societies 50,000 50,000 50,000
10. T.A./D.A. to Theatre Experts 4,000 3,000 3,000