Kalidas Samman is one of the popular awards presented to the person with great talent in writing field. This award is presented every year by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. This award is presented by the government to the people who are most deserving in the field of literature, drama and arts. This very award is named after the great poet called; Kalidasa, a famous classical Sanskrit language writer in ancient India, and is also widely recognized as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language.
This very award, that has become popular among the people, was first awarded in the year 1980. In the beginning the award was conferred in alternate years in the fields of Indian Classical Music, Indian Classical Dance, Indian Theatre and Plastic Arts. But from 1986-87 onwards, the Kalidas Samman were presented, every year, in all four fields. This award is presented for exceptional accomplishment in one of the four sections.
Prize And Selection for Kalidas Samman
Currently, the award, Kalaidasa Samman carries a cash prize of 2 lakhs (200,000) rupees. The winners are selected after a series of processes, whereby a jury is appointed by Government of Madhya Pradesh that contains distinguished artists, art critics and also officials from the Sangeet Natak Akademi (India`s National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama).
| 1980-81 | Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer | Classical Music |
| Mallikarjun Mansur | Classical Music | |
| 1981-82 | K.G. Subramanian | 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 |
| Vedantam 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 |
| Bipin Singh | Classical Dance | |
| Habib Tanvir | Theatre | |
| V.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 | |
| J. 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 Music |
| Sitara Devi | Classical Dance | |
| 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 |
| Kalyani Kutiamma | 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 | 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 | Theatre | |
| Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh | Plastic Arts | |
| 2003-04 | V.G. Jog | Classical Music |
| Chandralekha | Classical Dance | |
| Gursharan Singh | 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 | Classical Dance | |
| Ratan Thiyam | Theatre | |
| Manjit Bawa | Plastic Arts | |
| 2006-07 | Puttaraj Gavai | Classical Music |
| Sonal Mansingh | Classical Dance | |
| Vimal Lath | Theatre | |
| Shanti Dave | Plastic Arts | |
| 2007-08 | Balwantrai Bhatt | Classical Music |
| C.V. Chandrasekhar | Classical Dance | |
| Babasaheb Purandare | Theatre | |
| Satish Gujral | Plastic Arts | |
| 2008-09 | Chhannulal Mishra | Classical Music |