Jammu & Kashmir LG inaugurates Tribal festival Chhau

The 'Chhau Parv' was opened in Srinagar's Tagore Hall by Manoj Sinha, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The 'Chhau Parv' Festival and Seminar on Chhau Dances and Folk Dances were held at Srinagar's Tagore Hall by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, and National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama in association with Chhau Kendra, Chandankiyari, Bokaro, Jharkhand. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha thanked Sangeet Natak Academy for bringing Chhau Parva to Kashmir.  

Chhau Dance

• Chhau dance is an eastern Indian practice that represents abstract concepts, local folklore and scenes from epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana. 
• Male dancers from nearby towns or the families of traditional artists are trained in Chhau dance. 
• The Shehnai and Mohuri reed pipes are used to play folk and traditional music while the dance is done in an open space at night. 
• Originating in eastern India, it is a semi-classical Indian dance influenced by martial, tribal, and folk traditions.
• There are three styles that are called after the regions in which they are performed: the Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha, the Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand, and the Purulia Chhau of West Bengal.
• In 2010, the Chhau dance was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
• The dancer assumes the character of a flower, rainbow, animal, bird, hunter, or deity. 

Sangeet Natak Akademi 

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi is India's national music, dance, and theatre institution.
• It is currently a fully financed Autonomous Body within the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• Its major purpose was to create a venue for Indian music, drama, and dance.
• In order to concentrate on dramatics in India, Sangeet Natak Akademi founded the National School of Drama (NSD) in 1959.
• Registered office- Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi.

History of Sangeet Natak Akademi 

• In 1952, the Government of India's Ministry of Education passed a resolution to establish Sangeet Natak Akademi, naming Dr. P.V. Rajamannar as the institution's first Chairman.
• In 1975, Sangeet Natak Akademi was separated off and placed under the Ministry of Culture.

Functions of Sangeet Natak Akademi 

Sangeet Natak Akademi collaborates with global institutions such as UNESCO to save India's cultural heritage.

The General Council of the Akademi is in charge of overseeing it. The President of India appoints the Chairman of the Akademi for a five-year term.

The Akademi's Memorandum of Association, which was approved upon the organization's registration as a society on September 11, 1961, outlines the organization's duties.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship

• The Akademi provides Fellowships to distinguished artists and scholars of music, dance, and theatre, and in 2006 established the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for young artists.
• Tagore Ratna and Tagore Puraskar: Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Puraskar were awarded on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birthday celebration.