Lokmat Media Group hosts the 8th edition of Sur Jyotsna National Music Awards

Lokmat is once again back with its most definitive and prestigious event in the field of Indian classical and popular music, the Sur Jyotsna National Music Awards. With its commitment to recognize and honour fresh talent across the country, Lokmat hosted the 8th edition of the Sur Jyotsna Awards. The Awards were instituted in March 2014 by the Lokmat Media Group in memory of the late Smt. Jyotsna Darda, with the purpose of identifying and recognising talent at a pan-India level.

The 8th edition of the event witnessed the presence of eminent personalities like Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur (chief guest)- Hon’ble Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Youth affairs & sports, Govt of India; Guest of Honour Ustad Amjad Ali Khan; Bhagwat Karad- Minister of State for Finance; Ramdas Athawale- Minister Of State for Social Justice; MP Krupal Tumane, MP Bhubaneswar Kalita, MP Praful Patel, MP Suresh Prabhu, MP and former chief minister of J & K Farooq Abdullah; Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni; Manoj Jayaswal- Chairman / Founder Abhijeet Ferrotech Limited; Yogesh Lakhani- CMD Bright Outdoor and Mohit Jain- Board Member, Executive Director at Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (Times Group ) & President Indian Newspaper Society. The evening also witnessed special felicitation of Padma Vibhushan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan; Padma Bhushan Sajan Mishra, Pt Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, Smt. Subhalakshmi Khan and Padma Bhushan Rajeev Sethi. 

This year Ms. Maithili Thakur and Master Lydian Nadhaswaram were bestowed with Sur Jyotsna National Music Awards 2021. The evening became even more beautiful with Maithili Thakur's classical singing performance and the whole assembly was mesmerized by the melody of Lydian's pianos. Lydian spread the magic of his art by showing his amazing performance on two pianos at once. Continuing the evening with showcasing rich traditions of India culture and music, the stage was lit with mesmerizing special performances by Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash.  

While speaking at the Lokmat Sur Jyotsna National Music Awards, Mr. Vijay Darda, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha 1998- 2016) and chairman, Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd. welcomed all the respected guests and said, “Lokmat Sur Jyotsna National Music Award is being organized here in Delhi and is extremely special to me. My wife's name is associated with this award ceremony and she used to believe that music is very important to live life in a better way. She had a deep connection with art and culture. She has even founded Lokmat Sakhi Manch for women empowerment. I am very happy to inform that her thought has become such a huge program where more than three and a half lakh women are associated with Lokmat Sakhi. Here the Sur Jyotsna program has been designed in such a way that one female and one male talented artists from all over the country is being honored and given a platform to grow. “

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Youth affairs & Sports, Govt of India, appreciated the Sur Jyotsna program and said, "Vijay Darda ji has carried forward the thinking of his wife Jyotsna ji and has brought it to national level, not keeping it limited to Maharashtra only. It is a platform where every talented person in the field of art is given an opportunity to grow and is honoured. Today two highly talented youth, one from Tamil Nadu, Master Lydian Nadhaswaram and one from Bihar, Miss Maithili Thakur have been felicitated in this program. I thank Vijay Darda ji for this great thinking and work."

'Sur Jyotsna' is a ‘Vichar’, a thought intended to encourage budding talent and potential in the field of vocal as well as instrumental music. It is an endeavour to nurture the rich tradition of Indian music and pass on it to the subsequent generations. The Awards for 2021 were selected by the very talented jury members Roopkumar Rathod, Sunali Rathod and Shashi Vyas.

The Sur Jyotsna National Music Awards are aimed at singers and instrumentalists between the ages of 12 and 25 years. They should be performers with the highest creative artistry from any genre of music. In the vocal space, the Awards recognize talent in Indian classical music (both Hindustani and Carnatic), spiritual, ghazal, folk, sufi, semi-classical and Bollywood music, while in the instrumental space, the awards honour performers from genres like Indian classical music (both Hindustani and Carnatic), semi-classical and folk music.