Context: Recently, Renowned Carnatic vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Bombay Jayashri has been selected for the Sangita Kalanidhi award for 2023 by the Music Academy.

Key Points

• Kalanidhi award is the title awarded yearly to a Carnatic musician by the Madras Music Academy.

• She is known for her melodic and meditative style of singing and is recognised by a Padma Shri from the Indian government. 

• Where as the Nritiya Kalanidhi award for dance goes to Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari.

• She excels both in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. 

Sangita Kalanidhi Award

• It is considered the highest accolade in the field of Carnatic music.

• It came into existence in 1942. 

• Prior to that, a senior musician/expert was invited to preside over the Music Academy’s annual conference. 

• In 1942, it was decided that the musician so invited would be conferred the title of Sangita Kalanidhi, the award comprising a gold medal and a birudu patra (citation). 

Nritya Kalanidhi award

• It is presented in the field of dance every year by the Madras Music Academy.

Sangita Kala Acharya

• Instituted in 2012 by Dr Engikollai Krishnan and Dr Leela Krishnan it is conferred each year in January on a senior dancer at the inauguration of the annual dance festival.

About Madras Music Academy 

• It is a landmark institution in the history of the fine arts. It emerged as an offshoot of the All India Congress Session held in Madras in December 1927. 

• It was conceived to be the institution that would set the standard for Carnatic music. 

• It also confers the various awards such as the Sangita Kalanidhi, Nritya Kalanidhi, Sangita Kala Acharya, TTK, and Musicologist awards for the year.

Additional Information

Carnatic Music

• Carnatic music or Carnatic sangeet is the south Indian classical music.

• Carnatic Sangeet has developed in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These states are known for their strong presentation of Dravidian culture.

• Purandardas is considered to be the father of Carnatic music.

• In Carnatic music there is a very highly developed theoretical system. It is based upon a complex system of Ragam (Raga) and Thalam (Tala). Raga is basically the scale and the seven notes of this scale are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha and Ni. 

• The Tala (thalam) is the rhythmic foundation of Carnatic music. 

• Notable Carnatic music exponents are Papanasam Shivan, Gopala Krishna Bharati, Swati Tirunal, Mysore Vasudevachar, Narayan Tirtha, Uttukadu Venkatasubbair, Arunagiri Nathar and Annamacharya.