Eleven artistes from Assam have been honoured in the Sangeet Natak Akademi's 2024-25 national awards, spanning Sattriya dance, Kathak, theatre, folk music, Khol percussion and Tokari Geet — recognition that lands at a moment when practitioners and cultural observers in the state are increasingly flagging the precarious economic footing of the very traditions these awards celebrate.
Background
The Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for music, dance and drama, confers two tiers of annual honours relevant here: the Akademi Puraskar for established artistes with a substantial body of work, and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, aimed specifically at recognising and encouraging younger artistes under 40 in classical, folk and traditional performing arts. Assam's showing across both categories this cycle reflects the state's outsized concentration of India's classical Sattriya dance tradition and its associated performing arts ecosystem, most of it rooted in the Vaishnavite Satra (monastery) institutions of Majuli island, established in the 16th century by the saint-reformers Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva.
That ecosystem — encompassing Sattriya dance itself, Khol (a traditional double-headed drum central to Sattriya and Vaishnavite devotional music), Bhaona theatre, and folk vocal traditions like Tokari Geet — has long depended on a Guru-Shishya (teacher-disciple) oral transmission model centred on the Satras rather than formal conservatories. Cultural commentators and artistes in Assam have increasingly warned that this transmission chain faces genuine risk: traditional exponents often face inconsistent incomes, thin or absent pension provisions, and limited institutional patronage compared to more commercially viable performing arts, while rapid urbanisation and a lack of systematic digital documentation threaten the informal channels through which these forms have historically been passed down across generations.
Key Details
- Under the 2024 Akademi Puraskar, Prem Oja Borbayan was honoured for Sattriya dance and Bipul Chandra Das for Kathak.
- Under the 2025 Akademi Puraskar, veteran theatre artiste Chetana Das, Sattriya dancer Mallika Kandali, and Bhaskarjyoti Ojah — recognised for his contribution to music composed for dance within the Sattriya tradition — were among the honourees.
- Under the 2024 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, recognising younger artistes, Minakshi Medhi was honoured for Sattriya Dance, Dilip Hira for Folk Music, and Bidyut Kumar Nath for Theatre Direction.
- Under the 2025 Yuva Puraskar, Niranjan Saikia Borbayan was recognised for Sattriya Dance, Debajit Saikia for Khol Percussion, and Hirak Jyoti Sarma for Tokari Geet and Folk Music.
- Collectively, the eleven honourees span six distinct disciplines — Sattriya dance, Kathak, theatre (both performance and direction), folk music, Khol percussion, and Tokari Geet — reflecting the breadth of Assam's classical and folk performing arts base rather than recognition concentrated in a single form.
- The awards arrive amid a broader state government push, flagged in the 2026-27 Assam budget, to pursue UNESCO recognition for aspects of the state's intangible cultural heritage, including the Vaishnavite culture of Majuli and the Bihu festival.
At a Glance
| Award Category | Year | Assam Recipients | Discipline(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akademi Puraskar | 2024 | Prem Oja Borbayan; Bipul Chandra Das | Sattriya dance; Kathak |
| Akademi Puraskar | 2025 | Chetana Das; Mallika Kandali; Bhaskarjyoti Ojah | Theatre; Sattriya dance; Sattriya dance music |
| Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar | 2024 | Minakshi Medhi; Dilip Hira; Bidyut Kumar Nath | Sattriya dance; Folk music; Theatre direction |
| Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar | 2025 | Niranjan Saikia Borbayan; Debajit Saikia; Hirak Jyoti Sarma | Sattriya dance; Khol percussion; Tokari Geet & folk music |
Local Impact
For Assam's Satra communities and the wider traditional arts ecosystem centred on Majuli, national recognition of this scale carries practical as well as symbolic weight: Sangeet Natak Akademi honours typically raise an artiste's profile, opening doors to performance invitations, teaching opportunities and institutional collaborations that can meaningfully supplement otherwise precarious incomes. The prominence of Sattriya dance across multiple award categories and generations — from senior figures like Prem Oja Borbayan and Mallika Kandali to younger honourees like Minakshi Medhi and Niranjan Saikia Borbayan — also offers a visible counter-narrative to concerns about the form's long-term sustainability, demonstrating active transmission across generations even as structural challenges persist.
At the same time, the recognition does not resolve the underlying economic precarity that artistes and cultural observers have flagged: individual awards, however prestigious, are not a substitute for consistent income, formal pension schemes or sustained institutional patronage for the broader base of practitioners who will never receive a national award but who keep the Guru-Shishya transmission chain functioning day to day within the Satras.
What Happens Next
The Assam government's stated intent to pursue UNESCO recognition for Majuli's Vaishnavite culture, announced in the 2026-27 state budget, represents the most significant potential structural intervention on the horizon, though UNESCO intangible cultural heritage processes typically unfold over multiple years and require sustained documentation and advocacy. In the nearer term, attention is likely to remain on whether state and central government schemes evolve to address the specific livelihood and pension gaps repeatedly flagged for traditional exponents, and whether digital documentation efforts expand to help safeguard oral transmission chains against the generational and urbanisation pressures cultural commentators have warned about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sangeet Natak Akademi and what do these awards recognise?
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is India's national academy for music, dance and drama. Its Akademi Puraskar honours established artistes with substantial bodies of work, while the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar specifically recognises younger artistes under 40 in classical, folk and traditional performing arts.
Who are the eleven Assam artistes honoured for 2024-25?
They are Prem Oja Borbayan and Bipul Chandra Das (2024 Akademi Puraskar); Chetana Das, Mallika Kandali and Bhaskarjyoti Ojah (2025 Akademi Puraskar); Minakshi Medhi, Dilip Hira and Bidyut Kumar Nath (2024 Yuva Puraskar); and Niranjan Saikia Borbayan, Debajit Saikia and Hirak Jyoti Sarma (2025 Yuva Puraskar).
What is Sattriya dance?
Sattriya is one of India's classical dance forms, originating in the 16th-century Vaishnavite Satras (monasteries) of Assam established by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, traditionally centred on Majuli island and historically transmitted through a Guru-Shishya oral teaching model.
What is Tokari Geet?
Tokari Geet is a traditional Assamese folk musical form, one of the disciplines recognised among this year's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar honourees from Assam.
What challenges do traditional Sattriya and folk artistes in Assam face?
Practitioners and cultural observers have flagged inconsistent incomes, inadequate pension schemes, insufficient institutional patronage, and risks to the Guru-Shishya oral transmission chain from rapid urbanisation and limited digital documentation.
Is Assam pursuing any broader heritage recognition for these traditions?
Yes. In the 2026-27 state budget, the Assam government announced it would pursue UNESCO recognition for aspects of the state's intangible heritage, including the Vaishnavite culture of Majuli and the Bihu festival.
What is Khol percussion?
Khol is a traditional double-headed clay or wooden drum central to Sattriya dance and Vaishnavite devotional music in Assam, recognised this cycle through Debajit Saikia's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Khol Percussion.
Why does this recognition matter beyond individual artistes?
Sangeet Natak Akademi honours raise an artiste's national profile, which can bring performance invitations, teaching opportunities and institutional collaborations, offering practical support for otherwise economically precarious traditional art forms, while also serving as a visible marker of cross-generational continuity within Assam's classical and folk arts base.
Sources
The Assam Tribune, Pratidin Time, Ajmal IAS Academy, PIB (Sangeet Natak Akademi list of fellows), Suchitra ACS.