Theatre artist Babanna Kalmani of Kunkanuru andtheatre-film artist Yamuna Murthy have been chosen to be the first recipients of the awards instituted in the name of theatre artistes Ramagopal and Nataraj Enagi by Bellad Education and Agriculture Development Foundation.
Addressing presspersons in Dharwad on Wednesday, president of the foundation and also the Karnatak Vidyavardhaka Sangha Chandrakanth Bellad said that the foundation has instituted the awards in the names of the late theatre artistes who havecontributed a great deal to theatre.
He said that while the late Ramagopal was known for his great and distinct acting, Nataraj Enagi donned many roles in modern theatre. The awards carried a purse of ₹25,000 each and mementos.
Babanna Kalmani will be honoured with the Ramagopal Award and Yamuna Murthy the Nataraj Enagi Award.
The awards will be presented at a function to be held at Karnatak Vidyavardhaka Sangha in Dharwad at 6 p.m. on Saturday by Chairman of Kannada Development Authority T.S. Nagabharana and Member of Legislative Assembly Arvind Bellad, he said.