Panaji: The directorate of art and culture will honour 12 eminent personalities with the prestigious Goa State Cultural Award 2025-26 for their contributions and achievements in fields such as music, drama, tiatr, folk art, bhajan, kirtan, craft, literature and painting.The awardees are Rajani Thakur, Agnelo Joao Fernandes and Ramchandra Naik (music), Gurudas Shirgaonkar (bhajan), Ramesh Onskar and Jayanti Naik (literature), Jyoti Kunkoliekar and Chandrakant Gawas (drama), Irene Piedade Cardozo and Domingos Gabriel Coelho (tiatr), Vinayak Phadte Akhadkar (folk art), and Mahesh Vengurlekar (fine art).Gramin Kala Ani Sauskrutik Saunstha, Sattari, will receive the Best Cultural Institution Award 2025-26.Each Goa State Cultural Award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a shrifal, shawl, certificate and a Nataraj replica. The Best Cultural Institution Award comprises a memento and a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh.The department will also confer the Yuva Srujan Puraskar 2025-26 on young Goan talents who have excelled and made significant contributions in their respective fields of art and culture.Six awardees will be honoured with a memento, certificate of appreciation and a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each. The recipients are Saurabh Karkhanis and Govind Naik (drama), Vishant Gaude (folk art), Gautam Gawas (bhajan), Deepraj Satardekar (literature), and Umakant Poke (sculpture).
