The Tulsi Samman is a prestigious arts award presented annually by the government of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

 state in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The award is named after Tulsi Das, an Indian saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

, poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and philosopher, best known as the author of Rāmacaritamānasa, an epic devoted to Lord Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

. This award is presented for outstanding achievement in one of the four categories of the tribal, traditional and folk arts. These categories are: art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 and music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

.

Recipients

The recipients of the Tulsi Samman include:

Year	Name
1983-84	Pandit Girraj Prasad
	Hirji Keshavji
1984-85	Bhagaban Sahu
1985-86	Neelamani Devi
	Ganga Devi
1986-87	Sona Bai
1987-88	Mani Madhava Chakyar Mani Madhava Chakyar Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, South India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times...
	Madanlal Nishaad
	Bhulvaram Yadav
	Fida Bai Markam
	Devilal Nag
1988-89	V. Ganapati Sthapati V. Ganapati Sthapati Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati was a Sthapati , and head of the College of Architecture and Sculpture in the Vastu Shastra tradition ascribed to the sage Mamuni Mayan.-Biography:...
	N. Veerappan
	Jivya Soma Mashe Jivya Soma Mashe Jivya Soma Mashe is an artist of the Maharashtra state in India, who popularised the Warli tribal art form.Mashe was born in Dhamangaon village in Talasari taluka of Thane district of Maharashtra. At the age of 11, he came to Kalambipada village in Dahanu taluka of Thane district, where he...
	The Yakshagana troupe, Udupi
1989-90	Sagar Khan
	Sadiq Khan
	Bada Ghazi Khan
1990-91	Balappa Hukkeri Balappa Hukkeri Balappa Hukkeri was a singer of folk songs and Bhavageetes in Kannada language and a freedom fighter in his early years. He is mainly credited for popularizing Sugama Sangeetha in North Karnataka, just like P. Kalinga Rao who popularized the art form in South Karnataka...
	Balakrushna Dash
	Jhaduram Devangan
1991-92	Chamruram Baghel
1993-94	Kogga Devanna Kamath
	Arjun Singh Dhurve
1994-95	Belayudhan Nair
	Umagraj Khiladi
1995-96	Manguni Das
1995-96	Mahasundari Devi
1997-98	Swami Harigovind
1998-99	Omprakash Tak
1999-2000	Puranchand and Pyarelal Wadali Wadali brothers The Wadali Brothers are Sufi singers and musicians from Guru ki Wadali in the Amritsar District in Punjab, India. Born into the fifth generation of musicians given to singing the messages of Sufi saints, the Wadali brothers dabbled in the most unexpected of professions before they became Sufi...
2000-01	Purnachandra Das Baul
2001-02	Jonnalagadda Gurappa Chetty
2002-03	Ramkailash Yadav
2003-04	Ustad Ghulam Muhammad Saj Nawaj
2004-05	Prakash Chandra
2005-06	Swami Ramswaroop Sharma
2006-07	Lallu Vajpayee