Bharat Bhavan, the prominent multi-art centre and museum based in Bhopal, has turned 40. The Madhya Pradesh government announced on the occasion that a ‘Kala Gram’ – a centre for study and promotion of traditional and folk arts of Madhya Pradesh will be set up at the Bharat Bhavan and serve as its expansion. Also, Rang Mandal – a theatre arena that had become dysfunctional - will be restarted.
These announcements were made by Culture and Tourism Minister Usha Thakur on Sunday night during the commencement of a five-day programme to mark the 40th anniversary of the nationally acclaimed centre. Prominent artistes were felicitated on the occasion.
Thakur said that Bharat Bhavan is the ‘protector and promoter’ of the art and culture of Madhya Pradesh. To enhance this role, Kala Gram (arts village) will be set up. The state government has already allotted additional 1 acre 5 decimal land.
The minister said that the Kala Gram would become a centre for collection and display of traditional paintings of the state, studies focused on folk styles based on Mahabharata and Ramayana, dialogues, lectures, film screenings and documentation on various aspects of the state's culture.
She also said that Rang Mandal, which was used for practice and performance, has given many eminent and famous artistes to the state and restarting it will give the present and future generation of artistes a prestigious and suitable platform for their practice and performance.
Thakur honoured several prominent artistes, litterateurs and theatre personalities in various categories with the National Kalidas and Shikhar Samman. Principal Secretary Culture and Tourism and Trustee Secretary of Bharat Bhavan Sheo Shekhar Shukla said that the 40-year milestone in a person’s life indicates a slope, but the more the time passes after the establishment of an institution, its respect increases more. During the 40-year journey of Bharat Bhavan, it has got the support of many eminent artistes and creators.
National and state awards given
Rashtriya Kalidas Samman (national level) for Roopankar (fine) Arts was given to Jyoti Bhatt of Gujarat for 2017, Ira Choudhary of New Delhi for 2018, Paramjit Singh of New Delhi for 2019 and Dhruv Mistry of Baroda for 2020. National Kalidas Samman for Rangakarma (theatre) was given to Anil Rastogi of Lucknow for 2019 and Vaman Kendra of Mumbai for 2020.
Rajya Shikhar Samman for Hindi literature was given to Shaival Satyarthi of Gwalior for 2019 and Hari Joshi of Bhopal for 2020. Similarly, for Urdu literature, Naseem Kausar of Bhopal was awarded for 2019 and Devisharan of Bhopal for 2020. For Sanskrit literature, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta of Datia was awarded for 2019 and Rahas Bihari Dwivedi of Jabalpur was awarded for 2020.
For classical music, Gwalior's Pandit Prabhakar Laxman Gohadkar was awarded for 2019 and Bhopal's Pandit Sajjanlal Brahmabhatt for 2020. For state level fine arts, Devi Lal Patidar of Bhopal was awarded for 2019 and Manish Pushkale of New Delhi for 2020. For theatre, Vaishali Gupta of Bhopal was awarded for 2019 and KG Trivedi of Bhopal for 2020.
For Tribal and Folk Arts, Agnesh Kerkatta of Bhopal was given for 2019 and Purnima Chaturvedi for 2020. Similarly, Rajya Shikhar Samman for the rare instrumental music was awarded to Babulal Bhola of Sagar for 2019 and Varsha Agarwal of Ujjain for 2020.
Music, dances, film screenings, slideshows, talks, dance dramas and poetry recitation will continue at the Bharat Bhawan till February 17.
