Eight Assam artistes honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar

Eight artistes from Assam have been selected for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2024 and 2025, bringing national recognition to the state's rich cultural heritage.

Congratulating the awardees, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the honours reflect the strength and diversity of Assam's artistic traditions.

"Heartiest congratulations to Assam's artistes honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. As we accelerate Assam's development journey, we remain equally committed to preserving and promoting our rich virasat of Sattriya, folk traditions, theatre and music, for our cultural roots define who we are," Sarma said in a social media post.

Among the recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards, Prema Oja Barbayan (Sattriya Dance) and Bipul Chandra Das (Kathak Dance) were selected for 2024. 

For 2025, the awardees from Assam are Chetana Das (Acting), Mallika Kandali (Sattriya Dance), and Bhaskar Jyoti Oja (Sattriya Music).

The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar recipients from Assam for 2024 are Minakshi Medhi (Sattriya Dance), Dilip Hira (Folk Music), and Bidyut Kumar Nath (Theatre Direction).

For 2025, the young artistes selected for the honour are Niranjan Saikia Borbayan (Sattriya Dance), Debajit Saikia (Khol Percussion), and Hirak Jyoti Sarma (Tokari Geet and Folk Music).

The awards, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for music, dance and drama, are among the country's highest recognitions in the field of performing arts.

The recognition of artistes from diverse disciplines, including Sattriya dance, folk music, theatre, acting and traditional percussion, is being seen as a significant boost to Assam's efforts to preserve and promote its cultural legacy on the national stage.