Ronnie Screwvala & Nidhi Razdan among Teacher's Achievement Awards winners

11th edition of awards were given away at ITC Maurya, New Delhi

February 14, 2012:

All roads in Delhi led to the ITC Maurya as Beam Inc celebrated the spirit of achievement with the 11^th Teacher's Achievement Awards (TAA). The evening commemorated the start of the second decade of the one of the most prestigious, respected and admired Teacher's Achievement Awards by welcoming into its fold the finest achievers from the fields of Business, Entertainment, Sports and Communication. The awards underwent a stringent evaluation process by a distinguished panel of jury members before the final winners were announced in the national capital.

Recognizing the tireless efforts of taking India to the global stage, TAA honoured the inimitable Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Sharma has been at the forefront of taking Indian classical music to the international stage while being steadfast attached to the Indian roots. His contribution to Indian music is unmatchable and achievements as an individual, insurmountable. He is credited with making the Santoor a popular Classical Instrument. Sharma is the recipient of various national and international awards, including an honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA, in 1985, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001. The award was presented by Shabana Azmi, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Matt Shattock, President and CEO, Beam Inc.

Winners of 11^th Teacher's Achievement Awards include:

Teacher's Lifetime Achievement Award: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma

Teacher's Achievement Award for Business: Ronnie Screwvala, Zarine Mehta, Siddharth Roy Kapur for UTV Motion Pictures

Teacher's Achievement Award for Communication (Electronic Journalism): Nidhi Razdan

Teacher's Achievement Award for Sports: Gagan Narang

Teacher's Achievement Award for Entertainment: Vidya Balan

Teacher's Global Indian Achiever Award: Anil Kapoor

People Teacher's Achiever Award: Anushka Sharma

Teacher's Youth Achievers' Club Recognition: Durjoy Datta

Congratulating winners of the 11th TAA, Matthew J Shattock, President and CEO, Beam Inc said, “The Teacher's Achievement Awards have come a long way in the past decade. This is a very proud moment for all of us at Beam as we enter the second decade of achievements and excellence with the Teacher's Achievement Awards. I would like to congratulate all the winners – present as well as past – who have excelled … thanks to their talent … steadfast determination … and winning spirit. It is an honor to be in the company of such a rich spectrum of accomplishment from so many walks of life.”

Anil Kapoor who has received international acclaim for his contribution to Indian cinema was recognised with the Teacher's Global Indian Achiever Award. Dr L Subramaniam, Ramesh Sippy and Harish Moolchandani, CEO and Managing Director Beam India and ISC gave away the award to Kapoor.

The bubbly and vibrant Anushka Sharma who has been seen playing vivid roles in films like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Patiala House, Badmaash Company, Band Baaja Baaraat received the People Teacher's Achiever Award.

The evening opened with a stunning performance of Manasi Scott who performed the Teacher's anthem to an alluring audience. This was followed with the traditional “Teacher's Achievers' Walk” designed and choreographed by the designer duo Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna. The duo crafted a special collection for the past winners, jury members which included – Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Advani, Feroz Abbas Khan, Louis Bankz, Prahlad Kakkar, L Subramaniam, Nagesh Kukunoor, Manish Arora, Michael Ferreira, Prasoon Joshi, Anjali Bhagwat and Boman Irani.

Harish Moolchandani, CEO and Managing Director Beam India & ISC said, “I would like to congratulate all the winners who have not only excelled in their own individual capacity but are in some way anchors for the future of this beautiful country by becoming an example of motivation to the youth of today. Teacher's Achievement Awards are a symbol of excellence. And we are proud to be associated with individuals of the stature that we see today. Beam Inc welcomes each and every winner of the 11^th Teacher's Achievement Awards into its family.”

Boman Irani, who has been associated with the Teacher's Achievement Award since 2003, co-hosted the evening with Vir Sanghavi. Irani was honoured with the Teacher's Achiever of the Decade in 2010. The evening also saw mesmerizing acts by Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian. After performing in Hong Kong, Germany, Poland, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and all over the United States, Eric and Georgia stunned the Indian audience with their extraordinary ballroom dancing skills. The grand finale saw a splendid performance with solo acts followed by a jugalbandi between Anoushka Shankar, Medieval Punditz, Karsh Kale and Angaraag 'Papon' Mahanta.

The evening saw past winners, jury members and key stakeholders of the Teacher's Achievement Awards join the celebrations at the Nandiya Gardens at ITC Maurya. Those present included Ramesh Sippy, Jacqueline Fernandes, Kavita Subramaniam, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Vinod Mehta, Kashi Memani, BS Nagesh and Pablo Bartholomew among others.

PR@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com