Guru Shishya Parampara Support for Traditional Art Forms, Meghalaya

What is Guru Shishya Parampara, and does Meghalaya run it?

Guru Shishya Parampara is the traditional Indian method of teaching an art form directly from a master to a disciple, over years of close, sustained instruction rather than in a classroom. It is the transmission method by which Khasi, Jaintia and Garo music, dance and craft have survived, and it is the model behind several government schemes that pay a guru to take on a small group of shishyas.

Meghalaya's Department of Arts and Culture does not list a scheme by this name among its own schemes. According to the Department's schemes page, the schemes it runs are the Intensive Arts and Culture Development Programme (I.A.C.D.P.), Assistance to Voluntary Cultural Organisations, financial assistance to budding authors for the production of Folk Literature, the Literary Award Scheme, and Financial Assistance to Exponents of Traditional Art Forms, also described on the same page as the Living Heritage Scheme. Beyond these, the Department states that it recommends the applications of suitable individuals and organisations for assistance under the various schemes of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the 'Samarthan' schemes of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi.

This matters practically. A guru in Shillong or Tura looking for support to train disciples has two real doors, not one, the Department's own Living Heritage assistance, and a nationally funded scheme routed through the Department's recommendation. Neither is called Guru Shishya Parampara in Meghalaya's own paperwork, which is why searching for that name on state portals returns nothing.

The Department itself was created on 1 August 1988 to deal exclusively with the preservation of ancient arts, culture and heritage in Meghalaya, and with the promotion and expansion of cultural activity in the state. Its Directorate covers museums, archaeology, archives, the state library system, the gazetteer, anthropological and historical research, and a Tribal Research Institute.

Which Meghalaya scheme actually funds master-to-disciple training?

Financial Assistance to Exponents of Traditional Art Forms / Living Heritage Scheme is the closest match. In the Department's own words, financial assistance is extended to deserving artistes, artisans and living exponents of traditional art forms in order to continue their profession and impart training to others. The phrase "impart training to others" is the guru-shishya idea written into a state scheme: the money supports the master so that the art form passes on.

The Intensive Arts and Culture Development Programme is the Department's major scheme and the larger pot of money. Its stated objective is to promote indigenous folk and tribal arts and culture and vanishing art forms in the field of music, dance and drama, and a sum of Rs 2.50 lakh is earmarked for each Assembly Constituency every year. It is implemented through the MLAs, which means the practical route to it runs through the constituency rather than through a direct application counter at the Directorate.

Assistance to Voluntary Cultural Organisations funds registered cultural organisations to organise cultural dances, drama and similar events. A guru who teaches through a registered troupe or society, as many do in Meghalaya, will often find this the more workable head than an individual grant.

Who is eligible for Meghalaya's arts and culture assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a living exponent of a traditional art form, an artiste or an artisan in Meghalaya who continues to practise the art and imparts training to others.
• You are a registered voluntary cultural organisation in the state, for assistance towards organising cultural dances, drama and similar activity.
• You are an author writing in Khasi or Garo, for the folk literature assistance or the Literary Award Scheme.
• You are an individual or organisation the Department is willing to recommend onward to a Sangeet Natak Akademi or Ministry of Culture scheme.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are looking for a Meghalaya state scheme called Guru Shishya Parampara with published stipend rates. No such scheme is listed by the Department, and no rates for one could be verified on a state portal.
• You are an unregistered group applying under the voluntary cultural organisation head, which is written for registered organisations.
• You are seeking assistance for a textbook, a Ph.D. thesis or a reprint under the folk literature scheme, the Department's guidelines exclude all three by name.
• Your manuscript has already received financial assistance from the Department previously, again under the folk literature guidelines.
• You are applying for a second manuscript in the same year, since the folk literature guidelines allow assistance to one author for one manuscript in a given year.

How to apply to the Meghalaya Arts and Culture Department

1. Decide which head fits your work, Living Heritage assistance for an individual master who trains disciples, Assistance to Voluntary Cultural Organisations for a registered troupe, folk literature or the Literary Award Scheme for writing in Khasi or Garo, or IACDP through your MLA for a constituency-level training or performance activity.
2. Obtain the prescribed application form. The Department's guidelines state that applications for assistance have to be submitted in the prescribed form, which can be obtained from the Directorate of Arts and Culture or from the district offices of the Directorate.
3. Assemble your supporting papers — evidence that you practise the art form and teach it, registration papers if you are applying as an organisation, and bank account details for credit of any sanction.
4. Submit the application to the Directorate of Arts and Culture, Government of Meghalaya, Shillong, or through the district office of the Directorate.
5. Ask the Directorate to recommend you onward if the support you need is larger than the state scheme provides, since the Department explicitly recommends suitable individuals and organisations for Sangeet Natak Akademi and Ministry of Culture 'Samarthan' assistance.
6. Check the downloadable forms page on megartsculture.gov.in for the national schemes routed through the Department, which include Scholarships to Young Artists, Senior and Junior Fellowships in New Areas, financial assistance for promotion and dissemination of tribal and folk art and culture, and financial assistance to professional groups and individuals for specified performing art projects.

How does the Department decide an application?

The Department publishes its decision process in full only for the folk literature scheme, and it is worth reading because it shows how the Directorate works. A committee assesses each manuscript, chaired by the Principal Secretary, Commissioner and Secretary or Secretary of the Arts and Culture Department, with the Director of Arts and Culture as Member Secretary and outside members nominated by the Khasi Authors' Society, the Khasi Department at NEHU, Shillong College and Lady Keane College. Members from outside the Department receive an honorarium of Rs 500 per manuscript, subject to a ceiling of Rs 1,500. Up to five manuscripts receive assistance each year, irrespective of language, scored on style at 20 per cent, presentation at 10 per cent, originality at 20 per cent, relevance at 30 per cent and upholding social ethics at 20 per cent, with each member scoring independently and confidentially.

Conditions follow the money. The author must publish the book within six months of receiving assistance, sign an agreement with the Director of Arts and Culture before receiving it, furnish 25 complimentary copies to the Director within six months for distribution to libraries in the state, and submit a utilisation certificate with a detailed statement of account within six months. The copyright stays with the author; translation rights vest in the Directorate.

An applicant under any other head of the Department should expect the same shape. A prescribed form, an expert committee, a sanction with conditions, and a utilisation certificate afterwards.

What could not be verified

As of 2 August 2026, no scheme titled Guru Shishya Parampara with published eligibility, stipend rates or an application window could be verified on megartsculture.gov.in, meghalaya.gov.in or any other Meghalaya government portal. The Department's own schemes page does not name it. Figures for guru and shishya stipends that circulate on private scheme-listing websites are not traceable to a Meghalaya government notification, and this page therefore does not repeat them.

If you have seen a Guru Shishya Parampara advertisement referring to Meghalaya, it is most likely a Zonal Cultural Centre or Ministry of Culture scheme rather than a state scheme, in which case the Department of Arts and Culture is still the right first stop, because it is the body that recommends Meghalaya applicants for national cultural assistance.

Where do you enquire or raise a grievance?

• Directorate of Arts and Culture, Government of Meghalaya, Shillong. The office that issues the prescribed forms and receives applications
• District offices of the Directorate of Arts and Culture, which also issue the forms
• Department of Arts and Culture, megartsculture.gov.in, which publishes the scheme list, the folk literature guidelines and the downloadable national scheme forms
• Meghalaya RTI portal, megrti.gov.in, linked from the Department's own website, for a written information request where an application has been pending unreasonably long

The Department's published contact list gives a common P.A.B.X. line for its sections rather than a scheme helpline, so a written enquiry to the Directorate is the more reliable route. No fee is payable to apply, and no agent can charge an artiste to have an application considered.