Sarod maestro turns down Padma Shri

KOLKATA: The city’s culture fraternity raised a toast on Tuesday as the Padma awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day.
Among those to be honoured with the country’s top civilian awards were veteran singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay and poet Shankha Ghosh (both Padma Bhushan) and classical vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty and singer Usha Uthup (both Padma Shri).But even as congratulatory messages were being passed around came the news that sarod maestro Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who was offered the Padma Shri, had turned it down.
The 80-year-old musician, a recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy award, said it was “too late in the day for him to accept a Padma Shri”.
Speaking to TOI shortly after the awards were announced, Dasgupta said that several musicians much junior to him had received the Padma Shri years ago. “I don’t wish to run anybody down but I think many of those who got it were less deserving than me,” he said.