The Kalidas Samman (Hindi: कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India.[citation needed] The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India.[citation needed] The Kalidas Samman was first awarded in 1980. It was initially conferred in alternate years in four fields: Classical Music, Classical Dance, Theatre and Plastic Arts. From 1986-87 to 2008-09, the awards were presented in all four fields in most years, thereafter reverting to one person per year.[citation needed]
The recipients of the Kalidas Samman:[1]
| Year | Name | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer | Classical Music |
| Mallikarjun Mansur | Classical Music | |
| 1981–82 | K. G. Subramanyan | Plastic Arts |
| 1982–83 | Sombhu Mitra | Theatre |
| 1983–84 | Rukmini Devi Arundale | Classical Dance |
| 1984–85 | Kumar Gandharva | Classical Music |
| 1985–86 | Ram Kumar | Plastic Arts |
| 1986–87 | Zia Mohiuddin Dagar | Classical Music |
| Birju Maharaj | Classical Dance | |
| Ebrahim Alkazi | Theatre | |
| Narayan Shridhar Bendre | Plastic Arts | |
| 1987–88 | Ravi Shankar | Classical Music |
| V. Satyanarayana Sarma | Classical Dance | |
| P.L. Deshpande | Theatre | |
| M.F. Husain | Plastic Arts | |
| 1988–89 | M.S. Subbulakshmi | Classical Music |
| Kelucharan Mohapatra | Classical Dance | |
| Tripti Mitra | Theatre | |
| Tyeb Mehta | Plastic Arts | |
| 1989–90 | Vilayat Khan | Classical Music |
| Guru Bipin Singh | Classical Dance | |
| Habib Tanvir | Theatre | |
| Vasudeo S. Gaitonde | Plastic Arts | |
| 1990–91 | Padma Subramanyam | Classical Dance |
| Vijay Tendulkar | Theatre | |
| 1991–92 | Ali Akbar Khan | Classical Music |
| Ram Narayan | Classical Music | |
| Vempati Chinna Satyam | Classical Dance | |
| Vijaya Mehta | Theatre | |
| Jagdish Swaminathan | Plastic Arts | |
| 1992–93 | Ramankutty Nair | Classical Dance |
| Ammannur Madhava Chakyar | Classical Dance | |
| Badal Sarkar | Theatre | |
| Syed Haider Raza | Plastic Arts | |
| 1993–94 | Shanta Rao | Classical Dance |
| B.V. Karanth | Theatre | |
| 1994–95 | Padmavati Shaligram-Gokhale | Classical Music |
| Kavalam Narayan Panikkar | Theatre | |
| 1995–96 | Alla Rakha | Classical Instrumental |
| Sitara Devi | Classical Dance | |
| Manna Dey | Classical Vocal | |
| 1996–97 | Kishan Maharaj | Classical Music |
| Mrinalini Sarabhai | Classical Dance | |
| Shriram Lagoo | Theatre | |
| Sheila Bhatia | Theatre | |
| Bhupen Khakhar | Plastic Arts | |
| 1997–98 | Pandit Jasraj | Classical Music |
| Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma | Classical Dance | |
| Tapas Sen | Theatre | |
| Akbar Padamsee | Plastic Arts | |
| 1998–99 | D. K. Pattammal | Classical Music |
| Kalanidhi Narayanan | Classical Dance | |
| Girish Karnad | Theatre | |
| Arpita Singh | Plastic Arts | |
| 1999–2000 | Hariprasad Chaurasia | Classical Music |
| K. P. Kittappa Pillai | Classical Dance | |
| Satyadev Dubey | Theatre | |
| Francis Newton Souza | Plastic Arts | |
| 2000–01 | M. Balamuralikrishna | Classical Music |
| Rohini Bhate | Classical Dance | |
| Zohra Sehgal | Theatre | |
| Sankho Chaudhuri | Plastic Arts | |
| 2001–02[2] | Sumati Mutatkar | Classical Music |
| Yamini Krishnamurthy | Classical Dance | |
| K.V. Subbanna | Theatre | |
| Jogen Chowdhury | Plastic Arts | |
| 2002–03 | Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar | Classical Music |
| Kumudini Lakhia | Classical Dance | |
| Khalid Chaudhary[3] | Theatre | |
| Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh | Plastic Arts | |
| 2003–04 | V.G. Jog | Classical Music |
| Chandralekha[4] | Classical Dance | |
| Gursharan Singh (playwright) | Theatre | |
| Himmat Shah | Plastic Arts | |
| 2004–05 | Prabha Atre | Classical Music |
| Rajkumar Singhajit Singh | Classical Dance | |
| Devendra Raj Ankur | Theatre | |
| Nagji Patel | Plastic Arts | |
| 2005–06 | Zakir Hussain | Classical Music |
| Kanak Rele[5] | Classical Dance | |
| Ratan Thiyam | Theatre | |
| Manjit Bawa | Plastic Arts | |
| 2006–07[6] | Puttaraj Gawai | Classical Music |
| Sonal Mansingh | Classical Dance | |
| Vimal Lath | Theatre | |
| Shanti Dave | Plastic Arts | |
| 2007–08 | Pt. Balwantrai Bhatt 'Bhavrang' | Classical Music |
| C.V. Chandrasekhar[7] | Classical Dance | |
| Babasaheb Purandare[8] | Theatre | |
| Satish Gujral | Plastic Arts | |
| 2008–09 | Chhannulal Mishra | Classical Music |
| Jairma Patel | Plastic Arts | |
| Kalamandalam Gopi | Classical Dance | |
| 2009–10 | Saroja Vaidyanathan | Classical Dance |
| N. Rajam | Classical Music | |
| 2010–11 | Anupam Kher | Theatre |
| 2012–13 | Keshav Rao Sadashiv Shastri Musalgaonkar | |
| 2014–15 | Raj Bisaria | Theatre |
| 2015–16 | Bansi Kaul | Theatre |
| 2016–17 | Ram Gopal Bajaj[9] | Theatre |
| 2017–18 | Lakshmi Viswanathan [10] | |
| 2018 | Anjolie Ela Menon[11] | Visual Arts |
| 2018 | Surendra Verma | Theatre |
| 2020 | Aruna Sairam | Indian Music (Carnatic Music) |
| 2022 | Pt. Venkatesh Kumar | Classical Music |