Padma Shri Showwana Narayan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 17th edition of the three -day festival of the Indian classical dance, Visakhi Nritiyotsav, is being organized by Natraj Music and Dance Academy (NMDA) from 12 to 14 September at Kalbharathi Auditorium, Pithapuram Colony. Established in 2008 by the founder of NMDA Vikram Kumar BR, the annual festival has been constantly developed in an important cultural platform which attracts emerging artists along with famous artists. Over the years, the Manch has hosted the Padma Awards and the Sangeet Nutak Academy Awards recipients, a festival of note in the city calendar events.
Every year the festival offers awards awards that recognize classical dance and contribution to allied traditions. The Vicekhi Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 will be presented to Kathak Examinant Showwana Narayan, whose career has spread for seven decades as a career artist, teacher and choreographer. He was first awarded the Padma Shri in 1992 and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2001.
The Visakhi Nriti Shiromani Award 2025 will be honored at Sudagani Geeta Narayan of West Godavari, who trained in Kuchipudi at the academy under KV Lakshmi. The Visakhi Natyasari Award 2025 will be presented to Odissi Dancer Kavita Dwidi, which is recognized for her expressive acting and innovative choreography, while another Drashy Award 2025 was given Dr.. Padmini will be given to Krishnan, which is done by an artist from Kuchipudi.
The Visakhi Natyasri National Award 2025 will be honored at KV Muhammad Gurukkal, who has worked for decades for preserving and teaching Kalaripayattu in Kerala. His center is associated with the Tourism Mission responsible for the folklore Academy and Kerala.
Recognizing the next generation physicians, the Visakhi Youth Puruskar 2025 will be given to three dancers. Angshuman Gupta, trained in Manipuri and Kathakali under senior gurus, has presented his work with “Puranan” across the country. The second recipient, Sujay Shanbhag started training at Bharatanatyam at the age of six and performed in India and abroad, while also contributed to training and festivals through his organization Kala Sujaya. The third artist is Ogu Ravi Kumar, a famous Ogu Katha folk artist from Telangana.
The Saroja Vaidyanathan Excellence Award will be presented to Anupama Mohan, a special Kuchipudi artist from Kerala. Saroja Vaidyanathan Yuva Puruskar will be honored to Kulipuri Academic and Indic Researcher of Andhra Pradesh, K Amukta Mayada.
Published – September 11, 2025 04:14 pm IST
