Bardoli, June 28 -- Twisha Killolkumar Vyas, a young folk artist from Bardoli in South Gujarat, has been selected for the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2025 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Culture, for her outstanding contribution to the traditional folk dance form Garba.

The honour comes at a significant time, following UNESCO's inscription of Gujarat's traditional Garba on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, further reinforcing the global recognition of the state's rich cultural legacy.

"Garba is not merely a folk dance; it is a living expression of faith, culture and our collective identity," says Twisha Vyas, whose artistic phi...