Eminent singer Runa Laila will be honoured with Sangeet Mahasamman and popular Tagore singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya will be awarded with Sangeet Samman in Kolkata tomorrow.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of Pashchim Banga will confer Sangeet Mahasamman to 17 celebrated singers and Sangeet Samman to 19 popular singers in the inauguration eight-day Gaan Mela at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Apart from Runa Laila and Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, other recipients are Indian singers.
State government of Pashchim Banga honours iconic Bengali singers conferring on Sangeet Mahasamman and felicitates popular Bengali singers with Sangeet Samman in the annual music festival named Gan Mela.
Last year iconic Nazrul singer Feroza Begum was honoured with Sangeet Mahasamman for her contribution in popularizing Nazrul songs in Kolkata in the 1960s. ‘She is also invited this year as an honourary guest,’ her son Shafin Ahmed, told New Age.
‘It’s a great honour for me as a singer. The felicitation is yet another recognition of my popularity as a singer in the subcontinent,’ said Runa Laila, who got national awards from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in her long career of over five decades.
‘The chief minister [Mamata Banerjee] has also mentioned my contribution in the music arena in the sub-continent in her official invitation letter,’ Runa Laila told New Age.
Bannya, who is also popular in India as a Tagore singer, said, ‘It’s a great honour to receive this award. I feel really proud.’
The eight-day-long fair will be organised at different venues across the city. It will provide a platform to both renowned and unknown musicians.
The closing ceremony of the fair will be held at Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata on April 13 late night. Celebrated artistes will perform till the dawn to welcome the Bangla New Year.
-With New Age input
