GUWAHATI: The Assam government will confer the prestigious Srimanta Sankardeva Award 2023 to renowned Indian classical dancer and Padma awardee Sonal Mansingh.
The decision to confer the award to the noted Bharatnatyam and Odissi dancer was taken by the Assam government during a recent cabinet meeting.
Taking to social media, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Smt. Mansingh has been a leading face of our cultural milieu and has contributed immensely to further Bharatiya traditions.”
He said that the date of the award ceremony has not been finalized yet and the decision in that regard will be taken as per the convenience of the recipient.
Sonal Mansingh was a recipient of Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Vibhushan in 2003, making her the second woman dancer in India to receive such an honour after noted Bharatnatyam dancer Balasaraswati.
For her distinguished contribution to Indian Classical dance, Mansingh was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987.
In 2018, she was nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
She was honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna, in 2018 for her contribution to the field of performing arts.
Mansingh is also a well-known exponent of Manipuri Dance.
To mark the completion of her 40 years in dancing in 2002, noted Hindi film director Prakash Jha made a documentary film on her titled ‘Sonal’, which won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film for the year.
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So far 27 distinguished personalities have been conferred with the prestigious Srimanta Sankardeva Award.
The Srimanta Sankardeva Award was instituted during the AGP regime in 1986 to honour persons of eminence in the fields of journalism, art, culture and literature.
