I am indeed delighted to attend the Golden jubilee Celebrations of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in the esteemed presence Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Shri Ebrahim Alkazi, Guru Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, Guru Semmangudi R Srinivasa Iyer, Shri Komal Kothari, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Smt Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai, Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, Shri Badal Sircar, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Shri Vijay Tendulkar, Dr M. Balamuralikrishna, Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam.

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 drama 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 divine growth. Particularly, when I see in front of me the galaxy of esteemed Fellows of the Akademi, I thought of sharing with you a personal note. I have orbited around the sun 71 times and I am in the 72nd orbit, which means my age is 71. The first time in 71 years, I can say, my happiness is full and comes from my heart when I 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 and dance. Today, we and the whole nation smiles due to the great masters. I respect all of you. Thank you for all that you have done for the nation. Some may be musical instrument, some may be vocal and some may be art, 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 inauguration of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Half a century ago, 'the first essential and tangible step towards the regeneration and promotion of music, drama 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 by its Hindi name Sangeet Natak Akademi. Inaugurating the Akademi in the Central Hall of Parliament on this very day 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 Golden Jubilee celebrations 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 should not be limited by what people call bureaucratic red tape. 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 quiddity lies in its heterogeneity. Exclusion goes against its grain; exclusivity is contrary to its spirit'. How true these words seem today as well. Are we not home to one of the most diverse, rich and multifaceted cultures of the world ? And should it not be our endeavour to preserve and propagate this rich and diverse cultural heritage, which has come down to us over centuries ?

It gives me an enormous amount of satisfaction when looking back over the past 50 years, I find that the Akademi has fulfilled the dreams and aspirations of its founding fathers in a fairly substantive manner. But what has impressed me most was 'the sense of priorities shown by the government of the then newly independent nation. For, beset though it was with every problem inherent in a postcolonial situation, it could still count its responsibility towards the arts as "one of its first responsibilities". Culture was competing for attention with food, industry, defense; the scars of Partition hadn't healed. But it still got the place it deserved, reasserting the old proposition that man does not live by bread alone. Oft-repeated, but true.'

While the State cannot be a creator of arts, it can create at least conditions in which the arts can prosper. And it can create suitable institutions and put in place comprehensive policies for the furtherance of the arts, as the Indian State indeed made an effort to. The three national Akademis for the performing arts, the visual arts, and literature are evidence of this. In granting a measure of autonomy to these institutions, the Government has acted with appropriate sensitivity, in the mature knowledge that the arts and artists do not respond well to directions and diktats.

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 the onslaught of the 'pop culture' which appeared to be spreading like wild fire all across the country if not the world. 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 not only facing the onslaught of 'pop culture' but also to popularize the nuances of 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 after and popular than many of the pop-stars themselves. 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 Wadiyar 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 those among them - Thiru Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Shri Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Shirimati Mrinalini Sarabhai, Shri Ebrahim Alkazi, Shri Komal Kothari, and Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan.

There is a need to enhance crop productivity via a development and application of an integrated understanding of crop adaptation from a 'gene to field' perspective aimed to adopt an integrated approach to understanding crop adaptation traits and to develop and apply this knowledge in plant improvement programmes. Strengthening agricultural research and education including Plant Physiology at national and international levels is, therefore, important to fulfil future human needs. There is a need for plant scientists world wide to revise the approaches for shouldering their responsibility towards the global needs for food, rural development and human health and well-being at one hand and the conservation and efficient use of resources at the other.

The sapling which had been planted half-a century ago by some of the founding fathers of our nation has now become a strong and sturdy tree. The fruits of this tree can be sampled at many of the cultural and folk events, which are being organized not only in Siri Fort Auditorium or in Mandi House but also throughout the length, and breadth of the country. In fact, the folk dance festival has now become an integral component of our Republic Day celebrations itself. It exhibits before the country a complete panorama of the lively and colourful folk dances of our vast and diverse country. The results of the efforts of the Sangeet Natak Akademi can be seen not only within this country but also in the distant countries of the globe. I may add that some of the leading artists who were nurtured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in fact have won greater laurels for themselves in countries abroad than in India. That their art and effort has been appreciated all across the world is indeed a crowing glory for the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Conclusion

The first fifty years in the life of a public institution are vital to its later growth. By then, the contours of the land has been ascertained, the principal approaches tested, and possible strategies devised for the future. I am sure some of this applies to Sangeet Natak Akademi too in its fiftieth year. The projected activities of the Akademi for the two years ahead of us give evidence of a new thrust in areas where it has already established its credentials - in programmes for young musicians, dancers, or theatre directors, for example, or in the performing arts of North-Eastern India. The North-East is one area, which has an enormous richness and variety of folk and cultural art-forms, which is just waiting to be tapped. I, for one, would be very happy to see that art-forms of the North-East join the mainstream and are provided with a platform at the national level. Judging by its performance thus far, I have little doubt that the Akademi will meet this challenge and the challenges of the morrow with the same spirit of dedication that it has shown since its inception.

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 bear 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.

Thank you.

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