Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu presents the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi Awards and Fellowships in New Delhi on April 9, 2022. (Photo/Twitter-@VPSecretariat)
New Delhi: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on April 9, 2022, called upon schools and parents to encourage children to learn any art form of their choice as part of the efforts to preserve and promote India’s rich cultural heritage.
Stressing the need to go back to our roots, he called for a cultural renaissance in Indian society.
The Vice President also said that our rich traditional folk-art forms such as puppetry are disappearing due to the craze for western culture.
They have to be revived with the active involvement of not just the governments but society at large, VP Naidu said.
Observing that exposure to creativity and art at an early age will help children become more aware of their surroundings and help them lead a more meaningful life, the Vice President wanted educational institutions to give equal importance to art subjects in their curriculum.
He was speaking at the investiture of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowships along with Akademi Awards for 2018 and 62nd National Exhibition of Art Awards at Vigyan Bhavan here.
He presented the honours to various artists for their contribution to the field of performing arts and fine arts.
The Vice President recalled the role of visual and performing arts in arousing patriotic feelings during the independence movement.
VP Naidu observed that art unites people across cultures, influences and inspires them, thus “becoming a powerful agent of change in the process”.
“It is the duty of each one of us to preserve and promote our grand cultural traditions and various art forms,” he said.
Union Minister of Tourism, Culture G. Kishan Reddy, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi Chairman Uma Nanduri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Secretary Temsunaro Jamir, Lalit Kala Akademi Secretary Ramakrishna Vedala, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce Sanjukta Mudgal, eminent artists and other dignitaries were present during the event. (Press Release)
