President of India Droupadi Murmu presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards for the years 2024 and 2025 to eminent artists in a ceremony held in New Delhi on August 13, 2026. The event was part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
In her address, President Murmu characterized the honored artists as bearers of Indian tradition who serve as guardians of the nation's collective memory and creators of its future cultural vision. She noted that these performing artists collectively present a cultural map of India woven with native stories, songs, dances, festivals, and linguistic memories shaped over centuries.
The President emphasized India's multitude of musical traditions, dance styles, and folk theatre forms, noting that Indian culture is deeply rooted in the land and inspired by nature. She highlighted the vital role of the Guru-Shishya tradition in preserving India's diverse art forms, describing the Guru as "the most important book for our arts."
Murmu expressed concern that many folk art forms face extinction threats in rapidly changing times and stressed the need for both documentation and active preservation efforts. She commended the Sangeet Natak Akademi for organizing the 'Kala-Diksha' program with this objective and urged senior artists to make systematic efforts to groom the next generation.
The President described folk and tribal arts as reflecting natural zest for life and profound communion with nature, where community memory and collective consciousness find spontaneous expression. She identified these art forms as a vital foundation of India's cultural identity. Murmu concluded by congratulating the award recipients and expressing confidence that Sangeet Natak Akademi would continue to enrich the world with India's cultural energy as an important center of the country's soft power.