Assam’s vibrant artistic traditions have earned national recognition with eight artistes from the state being selected for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 and 2025.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated the awardees and said the honours reflected the richness and diversity of Assam’s cultural heritage. In a message shared on social media, he said that while the state continues to pursue rapid development, equal emphasis is being placed on preserving and promoting its traditional legacy, including Sattriya, folk arts, theatre and music.
For the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2024, Prema Oja Barbayan was selected in the Sattriya Dance category, while Bipul Chandra Das was chosen for Kathak Dance. The 2025 awards will go to Chetana Das for Acting, Mallika Kandali for Sattriya Dance and Bhaskar Jyoti Oja for Sattriya Music.
Among the recipients of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2024 are Minakshi Medhi for Sattriya Dance, Dilip Hira for Folk Music and Bidyut Kumar Nath for Theatre Direction. For 2025, the young artistes selected for the honour are Niranjan Saikia Borbayan in Sattriya Dance, Debajit Saikia in Khol Percussion and Hirak Jyoti Sarma in Tokari Geet and Folk Music.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards, conferred by India’s national academy for music, dance and drama, are regarded as among the country’s highest distinctions in the performing arts. The recognition accorded to artistes representing disciplines such as Sattriya dance, folk music, theatre, acting and traditional percussion is being viewed as a major boost to Assam’s ongoing efforts to preserve and promote its cultural heritage at the national level.
