Renowned musician and theatre director Shekhar Sen has been appointed as the new chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, which was without a head for nearly four months.
According to an order issued by the Culture Ministry yesterday, Sen has been appointed for a term of five years with immediate effect.
The country’s leading institution for performing arts was without a chief after its earlier chairman Leela Samson, appointed by the UPA government, resigned on September 30 last year.
Sen has done many research-oriented musical programmes and rendered many significant bhajan albums since 1983 as singer, lyricist and composer, a ministry statement said today.
He is famous for his mono act musical plays “Tulsi”, “Kabeer”, “Vivekananda”, “Sanmanti”, “Saahab” and “Soordas” which have been highly acclaimed.
Sen has received prestigious awards including Padma Shri and state level awards.