Road to recognition

The seven awardees are Bilkis Nasiruddin for Rabindra Sangeet, Omar Farukh for classical music, Bashir Ahmed for modern song and music direction, Afzalur Rahman for sarod, Rafikul Islam for Nazrul Sangeet, Alpana Mumtaz for dance and Shefali Ghosh for folk songs.

State Minister for the Cultural Affairs Begum Selima Rahman handed over the awards comprising a crest and a cheque of ten thousand Taka to the recipients. Bashir Ahmed, however, could not attend the ceremony due to illness. His son received the award on his behalf. The programme was presided over by the Director General of the Academy Ahmed Nazir.

The artistes, who have enriched our culture with their contribution during the 1950s and 60s, became emotional and joyous with the honour bestowed upon them.

At the end of the ceremony Bhaskor Bandyapadhyay read out the life and work of the seven artistes. A good number of prominent cultural personalities were present at the programme.