Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As many as 25 young artists from the state have been selected for the ‘Scholarships to Young Artists in Different Cultural Fields (SYA)’ instituted by the The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) under the Union Culture Ministry. The list of successful candidates was announced on Thursday evening.
The selected candidates from the state include: Harshit Soni, Manu Kaushal and Shashank Mishra (Hindustani Instrumental- Tabla), Sayyed Arshad Shah (Hindustani Instrumental - Sarangi), Mohika Saxena (Bharatnatyam Dance), Swati Yadav (Kathak Dance), Shiva Yadav, Suman Kothari, Nandini Chourasiya, Aastha Bano, Shubham Patel and Anand Agrawal (Folk Dance), Amar Raikwar, Virendra Jani and Shubham Dhanak (Folk Music), Aashutosh Singhai (Folk Songs), Bhanu Pratap Vishwakarma (Ghazal), Parul Patel, Akshay Pathak, Sunil Kumar Rawat, Anshul Dubey, Ketki Ashada and Shalini Malviya (Theatre), Tapish Soni and Sushma Saroj (Sculpture).
The scholarship is awarded to young artists in different cultural fields, including traditional arts forms, for undergoing advanced training in their respective fields. Under the scheme a scholarship of Rs. 5,000 per month is provided to selected scholars for a period of two years. The selected scholars should be in the age group of 18 years to 25 years and have been undergoing training under any Guru or Institution for a minimum of 5 years.
The list announced on Thursday pertains to the scholarship for the year 2019-20. The candidates had applied for it in 2019 and were supposed to be interviewed in March 2020. However, the process was delayed due Covid-19 pandemic.
At least three of the selected candidates are from Bhopal. They include Shalini Malaviya (theatre) and Suman Kothari and Nandini Chourasiya (both folk dance). Shalini has told the Free Press that she proposes to train in body movements and voice modulation at Kalakshetra, Manipur. “My interview was conducted online in December 2021 and I was not very confident that I would be selected,” she says.
