Panaji: June 25, 2026
Directorate of Art and Culture has implemented anew award scheme ‘Kala Vriddhi Award” under which Goan personalities who have excelled and given extraordinary contribution in their respective field of Art and Culture will be honored with Kala Vriddhi Award. Artists above the age group of 40 and below 60 years of age are considered for this award.
Total 10 (Ten) personalities from the field of Art and Culture have been selected for the Kala Vriddhi award during the year 2025-2026. The awardees will be honored with a memento, certificate of appreciation and a financial purse of Rs.25,000/- per awardee.
The following personalities will be awarded with Kala Vriddhi award are Shri. Bhushan Vithal Bhave, Ponda in the field of literature, Shri. Augie V. D’Mello, Bardez for Tiatr, Smt. Smita Arun Mandrekar, Bicholim for Bhajan, Shri. Purnanand Gajanan Chari, Salcete for Music, Shri. Dattaram C. Sawant, Bicholim for Folk art, Smt. Sonali Sonu Shetgaonkar, Pernem for craft, Shri. Rajmohan Ramnath Shetye, Pernem for painting, Shri. Navso Keshav Parwar, Sattari for sculpture, Shri. Eknath Mahadev Naik, Ponda and Shri. Umesh Krishna Bandodkar, Salcete in the field of drama.
The Kala Vriddhi Award will be presented to the awardees at a special function and the date of the function will be declared by the Department shortly.

