I am indeed delighted to attend the Awards Presentation Ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. I congratulate all the awardees and fellows for their excellent contribution to music, dance and theatre. I was thinking what thoughts I can share with you. I was going through the evolution of Sangeet Natak Akademi and its contributions to music, dance and theatre and the role in its promotion, preservation and enrichment of the performing art traditions of the country by keeping the lamp of culture shining. I pay my respects to all the Chairpersons of the Akademi who have given music a beautiful growth. I thought of sharing with you a personal note. I am happy to see the distinguished Fellows of the Akademi who are sitting in the first row and the dais. For them, I have great reverence and respect because they have given the nation the beauty of music, dance and theatre. Today, we and the whole nation smiles due to the great masters. My reverence to all of you. I was enriched by the music, particularly by two of our renowned music exponents, Janab Bismillah Khan with Shehnai and Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi in Carnatic music, with whom I had association for over five decades. Let us remember and convey our best wishes and greetings to these great music luminaries who gave beauty to Shehnai and Carnatic Music. Thank you for all that you have done for the nation. Some may be instrumental music, some may be vocal and some may be theatre, but the integrated effect is unity in diversity. That is the strength, which is what we need more now.

It is a privilege for me to be present here at the Awards Presentation Ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Half a century ago, 'the first essential and tangible step towards the regeneration and promotion of music, theatre and dance in free India was taken in the midst of the Republic Week celebration' when the first President of the country Dr. Rajendra Prasad opened the Indian National Akademi of Dance, Drama and Music which is now more popularly known Sangeet Natak Akademi. Inaugurating the Akademi in the Central Hall of Parliament fifty years ago, before a gathering of leading artistes of the country, Dr. Rajendra Prasad said that it was a matter of pride for our countrymen to lay the foundation of this Akademi, which, he hoped would occupy the same high and honoured place and status as the Academies of other countries.

I feel honoured today to be present at the Awards Presentation Ceremony of this great Institution, which has fulfilled the dream of Dr.Rajendra Prasad in a substantial measure and has come to occupy the same high and honoured place and status, which it was hoped it would occupy. The founding fathers of this Akademi had very ambitious and high ideals on which the institution was sought to be built. While the Akademi sought to give the fullest and widest opportunity to creative minds, it was also felt that the working of this Akademi led to bring up creative talents of the nation. A need was felt for coordination and synthesis of the various diverse arts of this vast country through a central institutional authority in the field. However, at the same time, it was hoped that the Akademi would allow the various forms of arts in India to grow, flourish and prosper. It was the dream of the founding fathers that the Akademi should 'encourage initiative, independence of thought and also of action among the votaries of the various arts of which it is going to take care.' I also recall the thoughts of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who had reminded us at the inaugural ceremony 'that India's culture and civilization have been built up in a spirit of accommodation and cooperation - of various people's and their cultures - that its beauty lies in its heterogeneity. Exclusion goes against its grain; exclusivity is contrary to its spirit'. These words are true today as well. It should be our endeavour to preserve and propagate this rich and diverse cultural heritage.

I would like to share my own thoughts on the survival and the propagation of the classical and folk art forms in the country. In the early decades of our independence, it was felt that our classical and folk art forms might not be able to survive with new music from other parts of world knocking at our doors. It was during those difficult days that the leadership of the Sangeet Natak Akademi stood its ground and applied themselves to the stupendous task of popularizing the Indian classical and folk art forms and to make sure that it achieves not only artistic heights but also a coveted space in the hearts of our countrymen. The efforts of the Sangeet Natak Akademi have borne fruit and we are now seeing a resurgence of Indian classical and folk art forms. Wherever we go, we come across classical programmes being organized and they do not have to depend only on official sponsorships for survival. So much so that with the efforts of the Sangeet Natak Akademi we find that many of our leading performers are now more sought. It is to the credit of institutions like the Sangeet Natak Akademi that we find ourselves in such a happy position today.

If the Akademi has been able to negotiate successfully in its domain, it is surely owing to the leaders it has had - some of the most respected names in the arts in twentieth-century India: Dr.P.V.Rajamannar, Jaya Chamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur, Kamaladevi Chattopathyay, Dr Narayana Menon, and, last but not the least, the Akademi's present Chairman, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. The distinguished Fellows of the Akademi have doubtless contributed to its overall success, and I take this occasion to pay my respects to all the awardees.

Conclusion

Before I conclude, I would like to share with you an experience that I had during one of my regular morning walks at the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Wherever I was walking, I saw flowers blossoming everywhere and approaching towards the pathway. Hence, I thought I should take a different route without stepping on the flowers. The flowers were blossoming hoping that nobody would dare to step on them and destroy them. Meanwhile, I heard a voice. One child flower asked its mother flower, "Why are people plucking us; why are they stepping on us and destroying us without any compassion? Even then, why are you bearing flowers and make them blossoming?" The mother flower laughed. It was laughing for sometime and said, "My dear child, if we do not blossom flowers, human beings will tend to move away from their humane nature. You look over there. The cuckoo is singing, the peacock is dancing, the parrot is cooing, the deer is jumping. Just like that this is also a duty given by God to us. Music is imbibed in it and it helps mankind to live as a good human being. In Nature, everything itself is music. Our blossoming is a poem, peacock's dancing is also a poem, and cuckoo's singing is a kind of music." Similarly, the service rendered by the Sangeet Natak Akademi for the last 50 years will help mankind to lead a life with values. I extend my greetings to the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

My greetings to all of you.

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