HP CM Office Hails Kullu Folk Singer Indrajeet's National Award
Synopsis
Folk singer Indrajeet Ji from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, has been awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 by Sangeet Natak Akademi for his contribution to Himachali folk music. The Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh extended congratulations, calling his achievement national recognition for the state's folk traditions.
Key Takeaways
Indrajeet Ji , a folk singer from Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh , has won the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 .
The award was presented in New Delhi and is conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi , India's national academy for performing arts.
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar was instituted in 2006 to honour young performing artists below 40 years of age .
Indrajeet Ji was recognised specifically for his work in Himachal Pradesh folk music .
The Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh publicly congratulated the artist on October 20, 2026 .
A folk singer from the mountains of Kullu has earned India's spotlight. Indrajeet Ji, a folk singer from Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, has been awarded the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 for his contribution to Himachali folk music — and the Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh has extended its warm congratulations on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The CMO's post reads: 'नई दिल्ली में कुल्लू निवासी लोकगायक श्री इंद्रजीत जी को हिमाचल प्रदेश के लोकसंगीत के लिए वर्ष 2024 के प्रतिष्ठित उस्ताद बिस्मिल्लाह खाँ युवा पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किए जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएँ।' — translated: 'Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to folk singer Shri Indrajeet Ji of Kullu on being honoured with the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 for Himachal Pradesh's folk music in New Delhi. Through his tunes, he has brought Himachal's folk melodies national recognition.'What the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Means
This is not a routine prize. The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi — India's national academy for music, dance and drama, established in 1952 — to honour outstanding young performing artists below 40 years of age across the disciplines of music, dance and drama. Instituted in 2006 in memory of the legendary shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, the award sits among the most respected recognitions available to a young artist in the country. Receiving it is a clear signal: a performer's art has crossed the threshold from regional promise to national stature.
Kullu's Living Folk Tradition Behind the Recognition
Kullu district is the heartland of Himachal's folk culture, a valley where music is woven into the rhythm of daily life and ritual — most visibly at the famed Kullu Dussehra festival, a week-long gathering that draws hundreds of local deities and their processions, all accompanied by traditional instruments and song. It is from this environment that Indrajeet Ji's artistry grew. His recognition at the national level is, in a real sense, recognition for an entire living musical tradition that has survived and adapted across generations in these hills.
State governments across India routinely use national cultural awards as an occasion to spotlight regional heritage — but the pattern here is also a reminder of how much of India's folk music universe remains underdocumented and underheard beyond its home geography. Every time an artist from a mountain valley steps onto a national stage with an Akademi honour, that geography briefly enters the national conversation.
With the Sangeet Natak Akademi set to announce the full list of 2024 Yuva Puraskar recipients, Indrajeet Ji's achievement from Kullu is likely just one note in a broader chord of recognition for India's young performing artists this year — but for Himachal Pradesh, it is the one that resonates loudest right now.
Point of View
Carrying the weight of the Sangeet Natak Akademi's credibility, provides Himachal's folk music a platform that state-level recognition alone cannot replicate. In a broader arc, this fits a pattern of India's performing-arts establishment — through the Akademi's award architecture — slowly pulling grassroots regional traditions into the national canon. The question worth watching is whether institutional recognition translates into sustained patronage for the many other folk artists still performing below the visibility line.
NationPress
20 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar?
The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is an annual award conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for music, dance and drama, to honour young performing artists below 40 years of age. It was instituted in 2006 in memory of shehnai legend Ustad Bismillah Khan.
Who is Indrajeet Ji and why did he win the award?
Indrajeet Ji is a folk singer from Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh. He was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2024 for his contribution to Himachali folk music and for bringing the state's traditional folk tunes to national-level recognition.
Which organisation gives the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar?
The Sangeet Natak Akademi — India's national academy for the performing arts, established in 1952 — confers the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar every year.
Where was the award ceremony held?
According to the Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh's post, the award was presented in New Delhi.
What is Kullu known for in terms of folk culture?
Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh is known for its distinct valley-specific folk music and songs, as well as the famous Kullu Dussehra festival, a major cultural event where traditional music plays a central role.
