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Use art, music to promote social causes: President

Staff Reporter

— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

President Pratibha Patil (top row-centre) with those who got Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2007, at a function in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Indian art and music could be used as effective tools to convey socially relevant messages, said President Pratibha Patil. She was presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Akademi Awards for 2007 to 33 eminent persons at the Vigyan Bhawan here on Tuesday.

Ms. Patil said Indian art and music should look at the social role that they could play.

Powerful medium

“Dance and drama are powerful medium and can be used to effectively convey social messages, particularly to fight social evils like female foeticide, female infanticide, dowry and addiction to drugs and alcohol.”

The President said art forms could also be used to educate the population on health, literacy and the values of truth, tolerance and harmony. She called upon the social organisations to promote music and art as a means of bringing about awareness, harmony and peace in society.

Stating that one of the aims of the Akademi should be to encourage the best talent from all parts of the country and to take the performing arts to a large number of people, Ms. Patil said encouragement should be given to the “patrons of arts”— corporate houses, musical societies, local artist groups — to support the classical and traditional arts.

“We are living in times of considerable change and in a globalised world in which there is a constant interaction and flow of ideas. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for the Akademi to ensure that its various schemes and programmes address themselves adequately to the traditional arts. It should look at using the different media of the new world like the Internet and multi-media systems, in addition to innovatively using the electronic media for promoting performing arts,” she said.

Coveted honour

This year the most coveted honour of Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) was conferred on eminent scholar and professor of aesthetics S.K. Saxena for his contribution to Indian music and dance over a lifetime as a philosopher and writer. The award carries Rs.1 lakh, a citation, an “angavastram” and a “tamrapatra.”

Thirty-three eminent persons were presented the Akademi Awards carrying Rs. 50,000, a citation, an “angavastram” and a “tamrapatra.”

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