Muckatira Shilpa Nanjappa, has been selected for the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in recognition of her overall contribution and scholarship in the performing arts.
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is regarded as the country’s highest honour for young artistes below the age of 40 in the field of culture and performing arts. Shilpa Nanjappa is the first person from Kodagu to receive this distinguished accolade.
The award serves as national recognition of her sustained efforts over more than a decade in documenting, preserving and promoting Kodava culture and heritage through academic research. It also acknowledges her accomplished performing arts career spanning nearly three decades, during which she has represented Kodava cultural traditions on national and international platforms.
She has built a distinguished career as a performer, researcher, educator, writer and choreographer. Trained for over two decades under the late Guru Padmini Ramachandran, she has presented more than 200 solo performances across India and abroad and is recognised as one of the leading Bharatanatyam artistes of her generation.
An empanelled performer with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and SPIC MACAY, Shilpa has made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of Kodava culture. Her research topic “Adaptation of Kodava language Compositions into classical format and Bharathanatyam” on adapting Kodava language compositions into the Bharatanatyam repertoire, was supported by a Central Government Junior Research Fellowship, and has earned recognition from academics and cultural institutions. She has also worked extensively to create cultural awareness among students in Kodagu through workshops and educational programmes.
She has represented India at several international events and cultural exchanges in countries including the Maldives, Germany, Lithuania and Australia. Her performances have been featured at some of the country’s most prestigious cultural venues and festivals, including the Music Academy in Chennai, NCPA Mumbai, Hampi Utsav and Natyanjali.
Over the years, she has received numerous honours, including the Karnataka Government’s Kittur Rani Chennamma Award, the Dr. M.G.R Award from the Music Academy, Chennai, the Singar Mani title from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, and the Karnataka Government’s Yuva Prathibhe Award, among others.
Apart from her artistic and academic pursuits, Shilpa has served as Chief Editor of the dance magazine Nrithyam, contributed to arts publications, and continues to teach, choreograph, research and perform. She is also associated with the specialty coffee industry as Partner and Brand Manager of Papakuchi Coffee.
