Kalam advocates dedicated TV channel for classical music

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) A trained veena player, President A P J Abdul Kalam today advocated a dedicated TV channel for Indian classical music.

Terming music as the ''greatest integrator'', Dr Kalam who was the chief guest at the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards, 2005, said peace teams of performing artists could one day replace military and judicial solutions to problems like terrorism.

Prime time telecast of musical programmes by legendary personalities on TV channels also found favour with the President who said it could be taken a step forward with an exclusive TV channel for Indian classical music.

Dr Kalam, who built a musical fountain in the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhawan, urged TV channels to help in preserving endangered musical instruments like Rudra Veena by airing recorded programmes of maestros.

''I am fully convinced that art, music, dance and drama give connectivity to the multiple variants in the society,'' he said after presenting the awards to 33 artists in various categories.

Calling upon performing artists to embark on a mission of unifying minds, he said one of the greatest contributions of Indian civilisation to its one billion people is the integrating influence of its traditional arts.

Minister for Culture and Tourism Ambika Soni, Sangeet Natak Akademi Chairman R N Mirdha, his deputy K N Panikkar and a host of musicians and artists were among those present at the awards ceremony.

Ms Soni said in a world witnessing technological integration, cultural diversity has to be protected in all its manifestations.

''It is because of an array of distinguished artistes that performing arts has been flourishing and proliferating in every part of India,'' she said.

Renowned kathakali exponent Mathoor Govindankutty, violin maestro V V Subramaniyam and famed nadaswaram player Ongole N Rangaiah were among the 33 winners.

The awards carry Rs 50,000, a citation and a shawl each.

Maharashtra-based puppeteer Ganpat Sakharam M Masge shared the award for overall contribution in performing arts with Pratibha Agarwal.

Following is the list of recipients of awards in various categories: Music: S.C.R. Bhat - Hindustani music (vocal), Ramashrey Jha - Hindustani music (vocal), Brijbhushanlal Kabra - Hidustani instrumental music (guitar), Tulsidas Vasant Borkar - Hindustani instrumental music (harmonium), S V Parthasarathy - Carnatic music (vocal), P S Narayanaswamy - Carnatic music (vocal), Ongole N Rangaiah - Carnatic instrumental music (nadaswaram), V V Subrahmanyam - Carnatic instrumental music (violin).

Dance: R Rhadha (bharatanatyam), Tirath Ram Azad (kathak), Mathoor Govindan Kutty (kathakali), K Radhamohan Sharma (manipuri), Korada Narasimha Rao (kuchipudi), Durga Charan Ranbir (odissi), Th. Chaotombi Singh (creative and experimental dance), Josyula Krishna Murthy (kuchipudi yakshagana -mridangam).

Theatre: Ajmer Singh Aulakh - playwriting (Punjabi), Debasis Majumdar - playwriting (Bengali), Ranjit Kapoor - direction, V K Sharma - direction, Chindodi Leela - acting, H V Sharma - (stagecraft), Suresh Bhardwaj (lighting), R Paramashivan (theatre music).

Traditional/folk/tribal dance/music/theatre and puppetry: P K G Nambiar - kuttiyattam (Kerala), Subbu Arumugam - villupattu (Tamil Nadu), Kashinath Pujapanda - odissi music (Orissa), Babubhai Girdharji Ranpura - folk music (Gujarat), Khirod Khakhlari - Bodo dance and music (Asom), Daryao Singh Malik - folk theatre (Haryana) and D S Aiyyelu - dance costume.

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