BANGALORE: Karnataka Janapada Academy will organise its annual awards function to felicitate folk artistes from across the state in December.
Sixty folk artistes will be honoured at Kolar or Chamarajanagar. However, the dates are yet to be finalised.
Academy president Pichchalli Srinivas told reporters here on Saturday that this year the number of folk artistes to be felicitated has doubled.
“Every artiste will receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 5,000. Most of the artistes we have chosen have never been recognised in the past and this award will help in them gain recognition,” he said.
However, Srinivas said that the prize money given to the recipients is meagre. “The academy has submitted memoranda to the government in this regard. We have asked the prize money be increased to Rs 50,000. If it is approved, we shall award Rs 50,000 from this time.
We have also asked that medical insurances be provided to these artistes,” he said.
“We have requested the government to allot a site to the recipients at their respective villages as most of them are living with just basic necessities. Recently, a famous folk artiste from North Karnataka was found living in a tin shed. This needs to change. These people have dedicated their lives for folk art....” said Srinivas.
Academy registrar B N Paraddi and others were present on the occasion.