Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikar Puraskar bestowed upon Padma Bhushan Vidushi Begum Parween Sultana

Addressing the August gathering at the glittering 29th edition of the Sangit Kala Kendra’s (SKK) Awards, Rajashree Birla, President of the Sangit Kala Kendra, in her welcome address, traced the genesis of the Sangit Kala Kendra.

Speaking on the occasion, she stated, “The Sangit Kala Kendra Awards, year after year, stir a lot of beautiful memories. Traditionally, this evening we pay homage to our beloved founder of the Sangit Kala Kendra – the legendary Aditya Vikram Birla, my husband, whose life symbolised the triumph of creativity and imagination. I would like to share snatches of conversations on his philosophy: his timeless values, from the thoughts of his father, as expressed by my son Kumar Mangalam.

It goes like this: ‘There is so much one can learn from his life. That you can be successful without having to negotiate on your values and principles, and on your own terms. With hard work, passion, and unfailing commitment. That at the same time there is more to life than work alone. Live life to the fullest – work with undivided focus and play with unbridled passion too. Follow your dreams – there is nothing you cannot learn or achieve if you put your mind and heart to it. That you can touch the lives of many people, more than you can perhaps imagine, through your genuine concern for their well-being, through small gestures and by being a role model to so many. We all realise that he is always with us and that he never left us.’”

“Today and every day, I feel that Adityaji never truly left us. His aura, his legacy of values, his desire to live life to the full and yet be a complete karmayogi continues to be his legacy bestowed upon us. It is also the rock-solid principle at the core of the Sangit Kala Kendra.”

This year, the focus was on Indian classical music. Padma Bhushan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty was the Chief Guest. The distinguished jury comprised eminent theatre exemplars from across India, with the renowned Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar as the jury chair. Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramaniam and Devaki Pandit were the other esteemed members of the jury.

The Sangit Kala Kendra has immortalised glorious moments of Aditya Birla’s life. The SKK Awards celebrate the memory of its visionary founder. Kumar Mangalam Birla graced the occasion. The coveted Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Puraskar, its premier award, was conferred upon Padma Bhushan Vidushi Begum Parween Sultana by Rajashree Birla. The versatile genius is known for her creativity across all genres, ranging from Indian classical music to film music. The high-voltage evening saw the crème de la crème from Maximum City in full attendance. Spectacular performances by legendary actress Rekha, Shreya Ghoshal, Aditi Mangaldas and Raghav Sachar had the audience on their feet, screaming for an encore.

Earlier luminaries upon whom the Kala Shikhar Puraskars were bestowed include Lata Mangeshkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Naseeruddin Shah, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Pt Vijay Raghav Rao and Pt Ram Narayan.

The Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Puraskar was conferred on Sammehan Kashalkar, Kumari Ankita Joshi and Sagar Morankar.

For more than twenty-five years, the Aditya Vikram Birla Puraskars have borne testimony to the evolution and tremendous growth of the performing arts in India.



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