You may have heard the words Sangeet Natak Akademi in a few different contexts. A famous classical dancer receives the SNA Award. A young musician gets an SNA scholarship. A documentary on Manipuri theatre was funded by the Akademi. A festival you attended was supported by it. So what exactly is this institution, and what does it do?
What is the Sangeet Natak Akademi?
The Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) is India’s national academy for music, dance, and drama. It is the apex body for the performing arts in the country, established by the Government of India in 1952 (officially registered in 1953) and headquartered in New Delhi. It is an autonomous organisation funded by the Ministry of Culture. SNA works to preserve, promote, document, and recognise the rich diversity of India’s performing arts traditions.
The name itself is Sanskrit: Sangeet means music, Natak means drama, and Akademi (a Hindi spelling of the Italian Accademia) means academy.
A little history
SNA was founded just five years after Indian independence. India had just regained political freedom, and the founding generation believed cultural freedom required institutions of its own. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, then Education Minister, was central to its creation. The Akademi’s first inaugural meeting was held in 1953 in Delhi.
Its sister academies are:
- Sahitya Akademi: the national academy of letters (literature)
- Lalit Kala Akademi: the national academy of fine arts (painting, sculpture, visual art)
Together the three Akademis form India’s cultural backbone at the central government level.
What does SNA actually do?
Several things. The major ones include:
1. Awards and Fellowships
SNA confers two of the most prestigious honours in Indian performing arts.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Akademi Puraskar): the highest national recognition in the field, awarded annually to artists across classical and folk music, dance, theatre, traditional and tribal performance, and puppetry.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna): the most coveted lifetime honour in Indian performing arts. Only forty Fellows can hold the title at any given time.
Both come with a citation, a shawl, and a cash prize. More importantly, they carry decades of prestige.
2. Documentation and archives
SNA’s archive in Delhi holds one of the largest collections of audio recordings, video recordings, photographs, costumes, and instruments related to Indian performing arts in the world. The archive has documented stalwart artists across the twentieth century: vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, actors, and folk performers. Many of these recordings are the only surviving record of certain artists’ work.
3. Support to artists and institutions
SNA offers grants, scholarships, and fellowships to young artists, traditional gurus, and small organisations. The Junior and Senior Scholarship programs are a meaningful safety net for serious students of classical and folk forms who often cannot rely on family income to support their training.
4. Constituent and supported institutions
SNA directly oversees or supports several major performing arts institutions in India, including:
- National School of Drama, New Delhi
- Kathak Kendra, New Delhi
- Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal
- Kutiyattam Kendra (specialised support)
- Chhau Centre, Saraikela
- Sattriya Centre, Guwahati
5. Festivals and tours
SNA organises and supports performances, festivals, and outreach tours across India and abroad. These include regional festivals showcasing folk traditions, national festivals like Naatya Parva, and bilateral cultural exchanges with other countries.
6. Policy and recognition
SNA plays a key role in recommending and recognising classical traditions. For example, Sattriya from Assam was recognised as the eighth official classical dance form of India in 2000 with SNA’s endorsement.
How are SNA Awards decided?
Each year, the SNA’s General Council and its expert committees nominate and select awardees from across the country. The selection is meant to reflect both stars and overlooked traditional masters. SNA Awards have gone to ghazal singers, Bharatanatyam dancers, Carnatic violinists, Manipuri theatre directors, Theyyam performers, Yakshagana artists, puppeteers, and folk drummers, all on the same stage.
Where is SNA based?
SNA’s headquarters are at Rabindra Bhavan, Feroze Shah Road, New Delhi, in a striking modernist complex that also houses Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi. It runs the Meghdoot Open Theatre, an outdoor performance space at the same complex.
What about controversies?
Like any large cultural body, SNA has its critics. Common complaints include slow grant disbursal, opaque selection processes, and centralisation of decision-making in Delhi. In 2015, several SNA Award winners (including Maya Krishna Rao and Bhalchandra Nemade) returned their awards as part of the wider writers and artists protest against attacks on free expression in India. The Akademi has since taken some steps toward decentralisation and improved transparency.
How can you engage with SNA?
If you are an artist, the scholarship and grant programs on sangeetnatak.gov.in are worth studying. If you are a researcher, the archives and documentation programs are open to academic visitors. If you are a curious audience member, SNA-supported festivals and Meghdoot Open Theatre performances are easy entry points.
The short version
The Sangeet Natak Akademi is the central institution that recognises, funds, archives, and supports India’s performing arts at the highest level. Its awards are the closest thing Indian classical and folk artists have to a national knighthood, and its archives hold cultural memory that no private institution could match.
For more, read about the National School of Drama, an SNA institution, and our piece on India’s UNESCO-recognised performing arts.