Furore over Sangeet Natak Akademi awards

After tabla player Anuradha Pal accuses national academy of favouritism, several musicians open up on the need for a fairer selection process

A week after the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) — India's national academy for music, dance and drama — announced the list of 42 artistes who have been selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, many musicians took to social media to express their disappointment. While sarod players Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash refused to accept the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017 stating that they cannot be considered 'yuva' given their age and experience in the field, ace tabla player Anuradha Pal penned an open letter to the members of SNA general council, highlighting that she is "disappointed and pained by the unfair selection process and criterion of the SNA, which is based on recommendation and lineage, rather than on merit and talent". Speaking to mid-day, Pal said she was shocked to see those honoured by the SNA this year.'

"I was shocked to find certain names who had never done anything original or outstanding, getting awards, whereas many who have been working for over 30 years, were sadly ignored, yet again. When I inquired further, I was told that the awards were given only on the basis of recommendation. So, only a sitar player could recommend another sitar player, even if the recommending authority was a close relative of the awardee," she said. Among several musicians who backed Pal's sentiment was ghazal singer-composer Tauseef Akhtar, who emphasised on the need to eliminate the system of "personal recommendations by panel members."

Tauseef Akhtar and Samir Date

He said, "After reading Anuradha's letter, I felt there should be a wider system in place to select the awardees [on merit] instead of personal recommendations by panel or board members. That would be fair to the artiste community." Echoing Akhtar's sentiment, singer Samir Date pointed out how several deserving artistes have not been recognised over the years. "Legends like Suresh Wadkarji have not even got a Padma Shri. It's unfair for artistes like him to be ignored by the state. I have known Anuradha for many years, and making a mark in a field [tabla playing] that is largely dominated by men is a remarkable achievement. The system of an artiste being needed to referred by somebody is flawed. Most of the SNA members are connected with arts, and would know who are the upcoming artistes.

So, I don't understand the logic behind recommending artistes for awards." Insisting that the SNA functions in "a democratic manner", chairman Shekhar Sen said it's unfair to accuse the body of nepotism. "We have a 72-member council that votes for the awards. We get over 1,000 recommendations every year, and there are only four awards for Hindustani classical music. In a country like India with enormous talent, it's impossible to honour everyone at the same time. Artistes who don't win in a year are reconsidered the next year. Our panel comprises several veteran musicians who haven't ever recommended their kids or kins." This year's awardees include Rajasthani musician Anwar Khan Manganiyar, Lalith J Rao of the Agra gharana, and Jyoti and Sultana Nooran.

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