11 from Bengal feature on list of Padma awardees

Kolkata: Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, tabla maestro Pt Kumar Bose and santoor player Pt Tarun Bhattacharya will be among 11 recipients of Padma Shri from Bengal, the Centre announced on the eve of Republic Day.

However, no name from the state features on the lists of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan awards.


Chatterjee, who has acted in over 400 films, dedicated the award to his audience. "It makes me happy to receive this award primarily for my work in Bengali-language films. I thank the govt for conferring this award on me," he said.

Remembering his mother Ratna Chatterjee, who passed away in 1998, the actor said, "I would not have been able to achieve any of this without her blessings. I am certain my dear friend Rituparno Ghosh would have been delighted to learn of this achievement. It was possible only because of the efforts of my directors, co-actors, and technicians."

Pt Kumar Bose, born in Kolkata in 1953, received his first lessons in rhythm from his father Biswanath Bose. "There are many deserving artistes from Bengal, and I hope they also receive this recognition from the govt," said Bose.

Pt Tarun Bhattacharya was born in Howrah in 1957, and learnt from Pt Ravi Shankar. "I only wanted to be able to tune my instrument properly and not run after awards. I am happy that those conferring the award recognised my 64 years of ‘sadhana'," said Bhattacharya, a key exponent of the Maihar gharana.

Six "unsung heroes" on the list include Ashok Kumar Haldar, Gambhir Singh Yonzone, Jyotish Debnath, Mahendra Nath Roy, Tripti Mukherjee and Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (posthumous).

Octogenarian plant and environmental scientist Yonzone said, "I am delighted my work in public education, environmental conservation, and social service, with a focus on uplifting the backward and remote regions of the Darjeeling Hills, was recognised." Roy, a chemistry professor at NBU, was the founder VC of Alipurduar University. Debnath (64), from Kalna, a master of khadi jamdani weaving with a 47-year-old career, said: "I am very happy." Mukherjee, born and brought up in Suri, is an entrepreneur and an exponent of handicraft. "I set up a training centre where women from marginalised families are helped to become financially stable. Last year, I got a chance to interact with PM Narendra Modi in Delhi," she said.

Among others selected for the award are Rabilal Tudu (77), a writer of Santhali language from Kalna, and Saroj Mandal, a cardiologist in Kolkata. "I am being awarded for my book ‘Parsi Khatir', written on Santhali drama in the Santali language," Tudu said.

(Inputs from Mohammad Asif, Subhro Maitra & S Boral)
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