Page 37 - Mann Ki Baat - English, February,2023

“I have been doing this Perni Natyam since childhood. My Guru
sent me to his Guru, Kala Krishna Kumar ji, where my journey with Perni
Natyam started. Since then, I have never given up and kept working
hard, today I am standing here because of Ustad Bismillah Khan
Award. The very next day after receiving the award, Modiji had also
congratulated us on Twitter. I am very happy that the young people
have got such a good voice. The Prime Minister thinks about the youth
and I am very happy and thankful to him. I also want to thank the
Government for supporting so many young people and artists that will
help the country progress a lot. I request the Government of India to
keep Perni Natyam under classical dance and we will try and move
forward to do this dance in the whole nation.”

-Rajkumar Nayak, Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award 2020
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modiji took my name in the popular
program ‘Mann ki Baat’ for Warkari Kirtan, then I got calls from my
friends and felt very proud that such a great personality took my name
today. I thank Prime Minister Modi a lot for this.”
-Sangram Suhas Bhandare, Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2021
“Receiving Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Carnatic
Instrumental was a joyous moment. This is the first time Sangeet Natak
Akademi conferred this award for Mandolin; so, I am really blessed and
it's a great moment for me. Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji also
mentioned my name in ‘Mann ki Baat’. I am very thankful to him for
choosing me and highlighting my profession. It is a big motivation and
a great honour for me. I hope that this would encourage and motivate
others to come up and take up our traditional arts.”
-U Nagamani, Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2021

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