THT Awards Ceremony 2026 + Award Lecture on "கல்வெட்டும் கணினியும்" by M Udhaya Sankar.

The following Awards will be presented:

1. The V Venkayya Epigraphy Award 2026 will be conferred posthumously on Late Dr C Somasundara Rao, eminent Telugu epigrapher and historian, for his significant contributions to the field of Epigraphy. The Award will be received by Ms Surya Lakshmi, daughter of the awardee. 2. The THT Prof. S Swaminathan Heritage Award 2026 will be presented to M Udhaya Sankar for his contributions to strengthening our existing knowledge base of heritage assets and resources and deepening the general public’s knowledge of Indian heritage. The Awards Ceremony will be followed by the Award Lecture by M Udhaya Sankar on “கல்வெட்டும் கணினியும்”. The talk will be in Tamil. About The Speaker: Udhaya Sankar (Udhayan) works as a 3D graphic designer and masonry estimator at a private organization. Outside his professional career, Udhayan has been a pioneering cultural archivist dedicated to open‑source digital archiving, cultural informatics, and computational preservation of Tamil heritage. Over the last 17 years, Udhayan has made remarkable contributions to the preservation and digitization of Tamil heritage. His work includes field documentation of 90+ hills and caves, photographic archiving of nearly 200 temples, the creation of a comprehensive Tamil inscription database and epigraphic dictionary, and the engineering‑precision digitization of 5000+ Kolam designs. Through his platform Udhayam.in, he has developed a digital archive of over 2,000 Tamil inscriptions. He has also revived ancient Tamil‑Brahmi script through the Adinatha Font and developed experimental heritage‑inspired typefaces. He has been recognized by institutions such as REACH Foundation, Madurai Corporation, Madurai Digitall and Chola History Research Association for his contributions to heritage.

Arun Krishnamurthy. "Hydrostan: India and Her Water Stories". Oct 3, 2026

In his Talk, “Hydrostan: India and her Water Stories”, Arun Krishnamurthy offers a fascinating perspective of the field implementation of water conservation projects across India, be they lakes, ponds, stepwells or cascade system tanks. The online Talk in English is at 5.30 pm IST on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026. About The Speaker: Arun Krishnamurthy is an environmentalist and conservationist from Chennai, best known for his work in restoring lakes and other freshwater ecosystems across India. A graduate in Microbiology from Madras Christian College, Arun began his career at Google in Hyderabad. His longstanding interest in the environment, however, eventually led him away from the corporate world and towards hands-on conservation. He went on to study at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication and became involved with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots programme. In 2011, Arun founded the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI), a Chennai-based organisation that works on lake restoration, wildlife conservation, waste management and environmental education. Under his leadership, EFI has worked on the restoration of numerous lakes and ponds across several Indian states, combining scientific methods with community participation and volunteer mobilisation. Arun’s work has earned him several recognitions, including the Jane Goodall Institute Global Youth Leadership Award, the Google Alumni Impact Award and the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2012 for his work on lake restoration. He was also named a Time Magazine Next Generation Leader in 2022. His work earned him a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat broadcast where he spoke about conservation efforts across the country. A keen communicator, filmmaker and public speaker, Arun has spoken extensively on India’s rivers, lakes, wildlife and the role of citizens in environmental conservation.