85 artists from across India received the first ever Jhankriti Awards 2023 at Art of Living International Centre, Bengaluru

 The Jhankriti awards instituted by the World Forum for Art and Culture (WFAC) were presented on saturday to the winners of Jhankriti an all-India online competition aimed at preserving and promoting Indian classical art forms in the category of Dance (Nritya), Instrumental music (Vaadan), and Vocal music (Gayan)

85 artists from across India received the first ever Jhankriti Award structured in three broad age groups: below 8 years, 8 to 16 years, and 17 to 25 years.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar while addressing the event said, “ Many years ago it was observed that our youth were moving away from Indian classical music and dance, that’s when we decided to create a platform. It is important to save and preserve our culture. With larger programs more and more people started coming together and realized the respect and honor they received.”

WFAC in association with the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India proudly pre-launched the first-of-its-kind online platform to celebrate Gayan, Vadan, and Nritya in Indian Classical and Folk Art forms. The event was formally launched on 1st June 2022 in collaboration with AKAM – Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, 75 days prior to India’s 75th Independence Day on 15th August 2022.

The award ceremony took place in the presence of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, G. Kishan Reddy ji (Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region of India), Meenakshi Lekhi (Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture), Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Minister of State for Education)