Folk music maestro from M’laya to get Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

SHILLONG, Nov 29: Folk music maestro Gloucester Nongbet has been selected as one of the 86 winners of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) commemorating 75 years of the country’s Independence.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award carries a purse money of Rs one lakh, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, selected 86 artists for this one-time award. The list includes the name of artists who are above the age of 75 years and have not been accorded any national honour in their career so far, from the field of the Performing Arts of India.
The awardees so selected represent the nation as a whole, and belong to different states and union territories. Besides, these artists cover the different genres of the performing arts of India. Other artists from the Northeast selected for the award include Mikkong Eko and Konpu Lee Kadu, both folk singers from Arunachal Pradesh; Hori Bora Barbayan (Sattriya Dance), Dharmeswar Nath Ojha (Byas Ojhapali), Guru Prasad Ojha (Sattriya Ojapali), Minoti Khound (Violin) and Makhan Chandra Borah (Folk Music & Dance) from Assam; Y Jatra Singh (Nata Sankirtana), Ng Salmon (Tribal Music/ Dance), Hijam Tombi Singh (Manipuri Dance) and H Bishwaroop Singh (Thang- Ta) from Manipur; Yapchung Kazi (Performing Arts) from Sikkim and Gopal Chandra Biswas (Tabla) from Tripura.