Shilpakala Academy honours seven performers

Abdullah Al Noman, Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, was the chief guest of the event on June 26 at the plaza of National Art Gallery at BSA.

Ahmed Nazir, Director General of BSA, presided over the event while Ehsan Shamim, secretary in-charge of Ministry of Cultural Affairs, was the special guest.

In his speech, Al Noman said, "It is the duty of the nation to pay due respect to the artistes."

Laurel winning Jagananda Barua is a renowned Jaltarango (Xylophone) player. He has received Sangeet Ratna and Sangeet Prabar titles in classical music. He has created 15 new ragas and eight new rhythms. Kunjalal Sarkar is one of the pioneer dancers in Bangladesh. He is an expert on Kathak, Monipuri, Raslila and folk genres.

M Hafizur Rahman is a singer, lyricist and composer of many popular folk songs. He is also a researcher on folksongs. Pandit Bijan Kumar Chowdhury is a prominent tabla player. He was the staff artiste of the radio. Nazrul singer Shamsun Nahar Karim began her musical career in radio in 1947. She has been performing on radio for the last two decades.

Rowshan Ara Masud is a renowned radio and TV singer. Hamida Haque is a Tagore exponent, who had struggled to perform during the Pakistani regime, as it was banned in that period. After completing her diploma from Shantiniketan, she joined BSA.

After the laurel giving ceremony Aditi Mohsin, Yakub Ali Khan and Shahnaz Beli performed songs. The programme ended with a dance presentation by the performers of dance troupe, Nrityalok.