 CULTURAL AFFAIRS

12.01. In the field of cultural affairs, the existing institutions have been developed further and several new and concrete measures to promote art and culture in the country have be-en taken, in the context of the need to reinforce, in practical terms, the composite culture of the land.

A: THE NATIONAL AKADEMIS

12.02. Sahitya Akademi:

The main programmes of the Sahitya Akademi have been briefly indicated below:

(a) Awards.

- Annual awards of Rs. 5,000 each are given to the most outstanding book of literary quality in each of the major Indian languages. The Akademi has made 147 such awards up to 1968. The award presentation ceremony for the winners of 1968 Awards was held at the Ashoka Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on March 28, 1969, when the President, Dr. Zakir Husain, gave away the Awards. The winners present on the occasion were: Shri Sundaram (Gujarati), Dr. H. R. Bachchan (Hindi), Shri Yatri (Maithili), Smt. Irawati Karve (Marathi), Shri Kulwant Singh Virk (Punjabi), Dr. Satyavrat Shastri (Sanskrit), Prof. K. B. Adwani (Sindhi) and Prof. A. Srinivasa Raghavan (Tamil). As Shri Masti Venkatasa Iyengar , the winner in Kannada, could not come to Delhi on the occasion, a special ceremony was held at Bangalore on May 25, 1969 when Dr. R. S. Mugali, member of the Executive Board of the Akademi presented Shri Iyengar the casket containing the Award plate.

The Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi has selected the following books for the Akademi Award for 1969:

 
        
        Assamese                      Prof.  Atul Chandra Hazarika-Manchlekha
        
        Bengali                       Manindra Ray-Mohini Araal
        
        English                       Dr. Nihar Ranjan Ray- An Artist in Life

125

126

        Gujarat                       Swami Anand-Kulkathao
        
        Kannada                       Dr. H. Tipperudraswamy-Karnatak    
                                        Sanskriti Sameekshe
        
        Kashmiri                      Abdul Khaliq Tak Ainagiri-'Ka': Shri 
                                        Zab : Nv Hund Allaqavaad Phera
        
        Maithili                      Upendra Jha-Du Patra
        
        Malayalam                     Edasseri Govindan Nair-Kavile Pattu
        
        Marathi                       S. N. Banhatti -Natyacharya Deval
        
        Oriya                         Surendra Mohanty-Nila Saila
        
        Punjabi                       Dr. Harbhajan Singh-Na Dhuppe Na Chavvan
        
        Sindhi                        N. U. Malkani-Sindhi Nasrji Tarikh
        
        Tamil                         Bharati Dasan-Pichirandaiyar
        
        Telugu                        Tummala Seetharamamurty- Mahatma Katha
        
        Urdu                          Makhdoom Mohiuddin-Bisat-i-Raqs
        
        Hindi                         Shrilal Shukla-Rag Darbari

(b) Honouring Eminent Authors.

- On December 17, 1969, a function was held at the National Library, Culcutta, to present the Akademi Fellowship to Dr. Tarasankar Benerjee and Akademi Awards to Shri Surya Narayan Das and Shrimati Nalini Bala Devi, award-winners for Oriya in 1967 and for Assamese in 1968 respectively, who had not been able to receive them in New Delhi. At the same function a cheque for about Rs. 4,000 was presented by Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterji to Shrimati Rama Banerjee, widow of the illustrious Bengali author of "Pather Panchali", Shri Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee. The cheque related to royalties for the English edition of Pather Panchali published in London.

(c) Fellows of the Sahitya Akademi.

- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was elected the first Fellow of Sahitya Akademi in 1968 and a special presentation function was arranged at Madras for the purpose. The four new fellows elected by the Sahitya Akademi in 1969 were: Shri C. Rajagopalachari, Shri Tarashankar Bandyopadhyaya, Shri Sumitranandan Pant and Shri D. R. Bendre.

127

(d) Seminars, Conferences, Literary Forums, etc.

- A seminar on languages without States or regions and two seminars on Guru Nanak to honour his 500th Birth Anniversary were held during the period. An exhibition of books on Guru Nanak's life and teachings was also arranged on the occasion. A special meeting of the Akademi's Informal Literary Forum was, held at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, on February 14, 1969 to pay homage to the great Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib.

(c) Selected Works.

- Four critical editions of Kalidasa's works, five volumes of collected works in Urdu by the Late Maulana Azad and four volumes of a comprehensive Anthology of Sanskrit Literature have been published so tar.

12.03. Sangeet Natak Akademi:

A brief account of the activities of the Sangeet Natak Akademi is outlined in the following paragraphs:

(a) Documentation

- Under its regular programme of re- cording classical music for the Akademi's archives the followings were recorded: (i) music of Smt. Badi Moti Bai; (a) Navavarns Kritis, Navagraha Kritis and rare Kritis of Mutthuswami Dikshitar sung by Shri M. Ramalinga Bhagavatar; and (iii) classical composition of Rabindranath Tagore rendered by Shri Jyotirindra Moitra. The systematic documentation of the traditional folk arts of music, dance and drama was continued. More than 173 hours of music covering a wide range were recorded and more than 3000 feet of 16 mm. colour films and over a thousand photographs, both colour and black and white were added to the collection, covering many rare forms of music. and dance.

(b) Programmes and Projects:

- Important programmes ar- ranged during the period are: (i) a Kathakali dance recital by the troupe of Kalamandalam Shri Krishnan Nair exhibiting excerpts from three famous Kathakali plays, namely, Mohini Rugmandgada, Keechakavadham and Duryodhanavadham; (ii) a seminar and festival of Chhau dances of Mayurbhanj organised by

128

the Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi at Bhubaneshwar in collaboration with the Central Akademi; (iii) a programme of Chhau dances of Purulia (West Bengal) at Delhi on June 4 and 5, 1969 accompanied by a lecture demonstration by Dr. Asutosh Bhattacharya; (iv) a programme of taped folk and tribal music from Assam, Bengal, Jammu, Gujarat, Orissa and Rajasthan in July 1969 when the traditional ballad singers of Haryana also presented in a live programme; (v) a lecture on Bandha Nritya (a traditional dance form of Orissa) by Shri Jiwan Pani with demonstrations by Km. Vijayalaxmi; (vi) a lecture-demonstration on Kathak dance with special reference to the tradition of Ras of the Braj region by Dr. (Mrs.) Kapila Vatsyayan with a lecture illustrated with slides and demonstrations by Miss Uma Sharma; (vii) a reception in honour of the members of the Balinese Dance and Music Ensemble, when four of our major dances, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali and Manipuri were presented; (viii) a two-day dance workshop under the guidance of a visiting American dance teacher, Mr. Lony Gorden, orga- nised at the National School of Drama under the auspices of the Akademi in September, 1969, in which 50 students of the School and local dance institutions participated; and (ix) the presentation of a short programme based on the literary compositions of the Guru Nanak Dev, including the singing of "Shabads" on the occasion of his Quin- Centenary celebrations at New Delhi.

(c) Library, Listening Room and Information Service.

- During the year some rare books and discs were obtained for the Library. The Listening Room attached to the Library was utilised as usual by a large number of people. The information Service of the Akademi was expanded and more systematically organised.

(d) Akademi Museum.

- Besides more than 200 folk and tribal instruments, the Akademi's acquisition during the year comprised (i) a set of Krishna and Radha costumes of ManiPuri dance; (ii) a complete set of about 100 masks used in Chhau dances of Purulia;(iii) a set of about 200 leather puppets from Andhra and Mysore and 18 string Puppets relating to Markan-

129

deya Puran; and (iv) 22 head-gears and tappers of Chhau marks of Seraikela.

(e) Publications.

- Besides its bi-monthly News Bulletin, the Akademi continued to bring out its quarterly journal, "Sangeet Natak". Folk arts was made the themes of two, special issues of the period.

(f) Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.

-The General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi selected 12 artists for the Akademi Awards of 1969:

                                               
        Music
        
             Shri Ramchatur Ballik                   Hindustani Vocal
        
             Shri Dabir Khan                         Hindustani Instruments (Peer)    
        
             Shri M. M. Dandapani Desigar            Karnatak Vocal
        
             Shri Devakottai A. Narayana Iyengar     Karnatak Instrumental (Veena)
        
        Dance
        
             Shri Vazhenkata Kunchu Nair             Kathakali
        
             Thangiam Ojah Chaoba Singh              Manipur
        
             Tiruvalaputtur K. Swaminatha Pillai     Bharatanatyam (for teaching)
        
             Smt.  Sitara Devi                       Kathak
        
         
        Drama
        
             Shri Manmath Roy                       Play-Writing (Bengali)
        
             Shri Habib Tanvir                       Play-Production (Urdu)
        
             Shri N. N. Pillai                       Acting (Malayalam)
        
             Gohan Chandra Goswami                   Traditional Theatre
                                                     "Ankia Nat"

12.04. Lalit Kala Akademi:

The significant activities of the Lalit Kala Akademi during the year are outlined below:

(a) Exhibitions.

- Quite a few exhibitions were held in this country and India's participation in important art exhibitions

130

abroad was arranged. Some of them are: (i) exhibition from the collection of National Exhibition of Art, 1969, at the Academy of Fine Arts Galleries, Calcutta, on June 14-23, 1969; (ii) exhibition of graphics by Dr. Gopal, C. Mittra on September 12-18, 1969, (iii) exhibition of sculptures by Ramesh Jain on September 24-30, 1969; (iv) exhibition of Hungarian fine arts at the Lalit Kala Galleries, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, on November 13-20, 1969; (v) exhibition of Hungarian fine arts at Madras in December, 1969; (vi) exhibition of architecture in Finland in the Akademi's Galleries on November 21- December 5, 1969; (vii) exhibition of recent paintings by Shri Anand Mohan Naik on November 23-30, 1969 at the Akademi Galleries; (viii) Mural Camp for Paintings at Bansthali, Rajasthan on May 22-June 30, 1969, attended by six artists; (ix) exhibition of the works of . Mueller, artist from the GDR on December 15-22, 1969; (x) exhibition of the works of Mrs. Amina Kar of Calcutta at the Foyer Gallery of the Akademi on December 1-10, 1969; (xi) Indian participation in X Sao Paulo Biennale with the works of Sarvashri Dipak Banerjee, Jyoti Bhatt, Bhupan Khakar, Reddapa Naidu, Vinodary Patel, G. R. Santosh, Ajit Chokravarty and Smt. Pilo Pochjhanwalla; (xii) Indian participation at VI Paris Biennale with the works of Saravashri S. G. Vasudev, Vinod Shah, Bikash Bhattacharya, and Binit Kumar Roy.

(b) Publications.

- Among the publications, mention may be made of Abainindranath Tagore and the Art of His Times which is a well-illustrated historical and critical survey of the development of contemporary Indian Art (1895-1947).

12.05. Second Triennale of Contemporary World Art:

Encouraged by the success of the First Triennale organised in 1968 which had resulted in establishing deeper and better Understanding and appreciation of the values of the East and West through the language of painting and sculpture, it has been decided that the Lalit Kala Akademi should organise the second Triennale in New Delhi in January 1971. Formal invitations have been sent by the Akademi to the various countries for participation in the programme.

131

12.06. Reviewing Committee on the Work of the Three National Akademis and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations:

A Reviewing Committee under the chairmanship of Shri Justice G. D. Khosla has been set up with the following terms of reference:

(a) To review the working of the three National Akademis and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations with reference to their over-all objectives and the recommendations made by the Bhabha Committee.

(b) To suggest measures for improving the working of these bodies and strengthening their activities in relation to broad priorities; and

(c) To recommend a suitable pattern of organisation and suggest changes as may be necessary in the articles of association (rules and regulations) consistent with the requirements of autonomy and public accountability.

The Committee has been requested to submit its report within a period of six months.

B: PROGRAMMES OF ASSISTANCE FOR CULTuRAL ACTIVITIES

12.07. Shankar's International Children's Competition:

The competition, which is a popular and important event, continued to receive assistance.

12.08. Building Grants to Voluntary Cultural Organisations:

During the year, eight organisations were sanctioned grants comprising a total amount of Rs. 2,06,300.

12.09. Financial Assistance to Eminent Writers, Artists, etc., in Indigent Circumstances :

Originally introduced during 1952-53, the scheme was revised in April, 1961. All grants under the scheme are given on, a sharing basis between the Union and State Governments in the ratio of 2: 1. Expenditure on grantees in the Union Territories is borne entirely by the Union Government.

12.10. Institutions Engaged in Literary Activities:

During 1969-70, a few institutions like the Institute of Historical Sudies,

132

Calcutta, Numismatic Society of India, Varanasi, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , Bombay, etc, were assisted under the scheme.

C: MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES

12.11. Central Advisory Board of Museums:

The Central Advisory Board of Museums was reconstituted in May, 1969 for another period of three years.

12.12. Re-organisation and Development of Museums:

A total sum of Rs. 87,272 was sanctioned to 19 museums during the period till February, 1970. Financial assistance,was given to three scholars for research in museology.

12.13. Museum Camp:

The seventh All-India Museum Camp was held on January 16-31, 1970 at Baroda, to discuss the subject of "Prehistory, Physical Anthropology and Natural History with special reference to problems of Collection and Techniques of Display."

12.14. National Museum, New Delhi:

Originally started in 1959, the National Museum has grown to be a premier museum in the country. An outline of its activities during the period is given below.

(a) Acquisitions

- Among the objects newly added to the Museum collection mention may be made of 263 art objects consisting mainly of lamps and brass rituals ware, 6 textiles and 18 Decanni miniatures as gift from Rani Rajwade of Gwalior; two sets of Bulgarian costume, 4 coins and an oil painting as gift from the Prime Minister of Bulgaria; a painted wooden panel from Rajasthan and a golden watch as gifts respectively from Dr. Grace Morley and the Soviet Defence Minister, Marshal Grechko; two gandhara stone sculptures on permanent loan from the Principal, Mayo College, Ajmer, and 86 other objects on loan from the Deccan College, Poona.

(b) Changing Exhibition Galleries.

- Some of the special exhibitions organised during the period in the changing exhibition galleries of the Museum are: (i) an exhibition of "Finds from the

133

proto-historic sites excavated in the recent past", consisting of objects from Navadatoli, Chandoli, Newasa, Ahar, etc., (ii) an, exhibition on "ONGE, the Little Known People of the Little Andaman", and (iii) on the occasion of the Quincentenary of Guru Nanak Dev, an exhibition on "Glimpses of Sikh History in Indian Art".

(c) Educational Programmes.

- An exhibition on "What is a Museum" was held and a dialogue between museum directors and teachers was organised during the All-India Museum Week on November 17-23, 1969. Other educational programmes organised by the Museum comparised lectures, guided tours of museum galleries and films for special groups of visitors from the country or abroad, particularly students and teachers. Besides the Keeper, Educational Service Department, delivered illustrated lectures on Indian art, architecture and cultural subjects at various cultural centres, and participated in seminars, television programmes and radio broadcasts. Indian and foreign scholars were provided facilities to examine and study the reserve collections of the Museum.

(d) Special Talks.

-The Museum was visited by some eminent scholars and museologists from abroad. A number of illustrated talks were organised during the period.

(e) Library and Conservation Laboratory.

- The Museum Library continued to render useful reference and research service to university students, research scholars and specialists in the field. The Conservation Laboratory, besides carrying out preservation and scientific examination of its own collections, helped other museums in preserving some of their art objects. It organised, during the period, a three-week course on 'Care of Museum Objects'.