Guwahati (Assam): Renowned classical dancer and Padma awardee Sonal Mansingh will be conferred with the Srimanta Sankardeva Award for the year 2023. The Assam Government has decided to confer the prestigious award to Sonal Mansingh.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision during his media briefing on Wednesday following the cabinet meeting of the Assam Government in Dispur.
Srimanta Sankardeva Award
Since 1986, the Government of Assam has been presenting the National Level Srimanta Sankardev Award to persons who have achieved national and international fame in the fields of literature, art, culture, journalism etc. The award was instituted with the aim of highlighting the ideals of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva to the people of the world and inspiring the people of India through the remembrance of his qualities.
The award carries a cash prize along with a citation, a gold medal, a shawl and a robe. Since 1997, the amount of cash offered in this award has been increased from Rs one lakh to Rs three lakh, and it amounted to Rs five lakh in 2020.
Sonal Mansingh
Sonal Mansingh is a classical dancer and guru in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing styles. The noted dancer is also a recipient of Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Vibhushan in 2003. For her distinguished contribution to Indian Classical dance, Mansingh was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987. In 2018, she was nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Mansingh is also a well-known exponent of Manipuri Dance.
Sankardev Award Winners:
So far there are 27 winners who have been conferred with the prestigious award.
1986 - Kirtinath Hazarika, 1987 - Bhupen Hazarika, 1988 - Satyajit Ray, 1989 - Maheshwar Neog, 1990 - Kapila Vatsyayana, 1991 - Satyendranath Sarma, 1992 - Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar, 1993 - Satyaprasad Baruah and Gangubai Hangal, 1994 - Mahendra Bora, 1995 - Syed Abdul Malik, 1996 - Bhavesh Chandra Sanyal, 1997 - Kelucharan Mohapatra, 1998 - Bhabendra Nath Saikia, 1999 - Amjad Ali Khan, 2000 - Sonaram Chutia, 2001 - Acharya Ilaram Das, 2002 - Indira Miri, 2003 - Habib Tanbir, 2004 - Narayan Dev Goswami and Parveen Sultana, 2005 - B G Verghese, 2006 - Dr Keshabananda Dev Goswami, 2007 - Homen Borgohain, 2008 - Sharmila Tagore, 2011 - Kanaksen Deka, 2014 - M L Varadpande, 2017 - Basistha Dev Sarma, 2020 - Bhavaprasad Chaliha.
While addressing the media about the decision, Assam CM said that the date of the award ceremony is not yet finalised and the decision in that regard will be taken as per the convenience of the recipient.
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