Lucknow, April 5 (AHN) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inaugurated the renovated complex of Bharatendu Natya Akademi, including two state-of-the-art auditoriums and also honoured artists and alumni.

He also released a magazine titled Rangved and undertook a tour of exhibition while participating in the inaugural programme of the 'Golden Jubilee Theatre Festival' organised on Sunday. The Chief Minister also watched a theatrical adaptation of the novel Anandamath, authored by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

The event was the completion of 50 years of the establishment of Bharatendu Natya Akademi, the Centre for the Promotion of Art and Culture.

Earlier, Dr Ratishankar Tripathi, Chairman of the Bharatendu Natya Akademi, welcomed the UP Chief Minister by presenting him with an *Angavastra* (traditional stole) and a memento.

A heart-warming also unfolded at the event, as a young girl approached the stage and sought the Chief Minister's blessings by touching his feet. The latter gave her a chocolate and encouraged her to excel in her studies.

Among the artists and alumni, who were honoured by the Chief Minister included Kiran Bisaria (Lakhimpur Kheri), Padma Shri Ram Gopal Bajaj (New Delhi), Padma Shri Dr Anil Rastogi (Lucknow), Prof. Ajay Malkani (Ranchi), Ravishankar Khare (Gorakhpur), Chitra Mohan (Prayagraj), Manju Brajnandan Sharma (Saharanpur), Munish Sappal (Mumbai), Dr Devendra Kumar Tripathi (Prayagraj), Dr Ajit Saigal (Varanasi), Rakesh Nigam (Lucknow), Pramod Singh Rana (Agra), Alok Pandey (Shahjahanpur), Kushal Dubey (Jaunpur), and Rakesh Pandey (Bhadohi).

CM Yogi also took to X to share photographs from the Bharatendu Natya Akademi's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

"When emotions transform into words, words into performance, and when that performance evolves into a collective consciousness that steers society in a new direction—that, in the truest sense, is 'Theatre', he wrote on X.

He further wrote, "May this golden journey of the Bhartendu Natya Akademi continue to move forward ceaselessly. I pay homage to the memory of Raj Bisaria Ji, who played a pivotal role in advancing the Akademi, and extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to everyone."