Media Release

Udupi, Mar 27: The Malabar Vishwa Ranga Award 2026 ceremony was organized under the aegis of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Udupi in association with Samskruthi Vishwa Pratishtana (R) and the Shankar Group of Institutions, Manipal Endowment Fund.

On the occasion, senior theatre artistes Shripathi Manjanabailu, Bengaluru; Geetha, Suratkal; S Nityananda Pai, Karkala; Avinash Kamath, Mumbai and Ram Shetty, Haradi were honoured with the prestigious award for their contributions to theatre.

Presiding over the function, assistant director of the department of Kannada and culture, Poornima, said that every play serves as a ray of light that offers new ideas to society. She noted that artistes bring strength to characters and deliver messages of hope and inspiration to audiences. Highlighting Udupi’s cultural richness, she added that the initiatives of Samskruthi Vishwa Pratishtana over the past seven years are exemplary.

Suguna Suvarna, administrative director of the Shankar Group of Institutions, stated that theatre plays a vital role in guiding society on the right path. She emphasized that honouring artists motivates them to contribute even more to the field.

Naveen Kumar, vice president of supply management, payments and identity solutions, Manipal, extended his best wishes on the occasion.

During the event, Malabar Gold staff member and theatre artiste Vignesh Hiriyadka was also felicitated.

Dr Bhargavi Aithal, Ranjani Vasanth, Vidyasaraswati, Poornima Janardhan, and Vidya Shyamsundar introduced the awardees. Raviraj H P, convenor of Samskruthi Vishwa Pratishtana, delivered the introductory remarks. Rajesh Bhat Paniyadi welcomed the gathering, while Raghavendra Prabhu Karvalu compered the programme. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Sandhya Shenoy.

Dignitaries present on the dais included honorary president of Samskruthi Vishwa Pratishtana Udupi Vishwanath Shenoy, president professor Shankar, Malabar Gold branch manager Hafeez Rehman, and award committee convenor Rajesh Bhat Paniyadi.