MUMBAI: Kashmiri folk singer Raj Begum and noted violin player L Subramaniam will be among the recipients of this year's 'SaMaPa Awards', instituted by the cultural academy of santoor maestro Pt Bhajan Sopori, says a PTI report.

SaMaPa or Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts announced the names of the awardees in New Delhi on Saturday.

The SaMaPa Vitasta Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000, will be given to Subramaniam and 'Mahant' Veer Bhadra Mishra of Varanasi for their contribution to Indian music. Raj Begum will receive the SaMaPa Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohd Abdullah Award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 25,000, for her lifetime contribution in the field of Kashmiri folk music.

This year, the academy is also introducing SaMaPa Acharya Abhinavgupta Samman, to be given to music critics, scholars and journalists for their work in the fields of art, culture and languages, the report says.