FROM LEFT… Photographer Amanul Haque, singers Ferdausi Rahman and Firoza Begum at the Celebrating Life gala event holding their lifetime achievement awards. Standard Chartered Bank and The Daily Star organised Celebrating Life at Mirpur Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium yesterday evening. Film star Abdur Razzak also got the lifetime achievement award.Photo: STAR
Staff Corresponden.
Shaheed Suhrawardy National Indoor Stadium yesterday vibrated with rhythm, melody and voice, individual as well as collective, when some creative minds, artistes in their own fashion and revered by the country, were honoured for their brilliance in photography, songs and movies.
The setting was apt for the fifth award giving ceremony of “Celebrating Life”, a Standard Chartered Bank and The Daily Star cooperative endeavour aimed at recognising emerging artistes in these fields through giving them a platform to make themselves known.
This year’s theme was “Celebrating Youth”.
The chief guest on the occasion, Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad, handed over the awards to 18 winners of the competition at the gala evening where classical music maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty along with his daughter Kaushiki Desikan performed.
The award giving ceremony was marked by jubilation as the audience burst into cheery applause while the names of the awardees were being announced at the three-hour event.
Four notable personalities received Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contributions in their respective disciplines.
Renowned Nazrul Sangeet exponent Firoza Begum received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Nazrul Sangeet and modern Bangla songs. Celebrated film star Abdur Razzak was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to film.
Veteran photographer Amanul Haque received the Lifetime Achievement for his gifted photographs which underpin various phases in Bangladesh’s history and noted singer Ferdausi Rahman was honoured for films songs and “Bhawaiya” (folk) songs.
“I have learned all types of songs. But I learned Nazrul Sangeet from an innate urge as it was neglected,” said Firoza Begum in her instant reaction. She said she had never thought of coming by such appreciation before.
Abul Kalam Azad thanked the organisers for arranging and creating the platform where young and promising people of the country can get inspiration and an opportunity to flourish. He also congratulated the participants.
“Through this competition and the subsequent recognition of unknown talents, the nation will find a treasure of creativity. The young generation of the country will get a source of inspiration from this event,” Azad added.
The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam said, “Patriotism is one of the defining characteristics of the Bangladeshi people and people express their patriotism in different ways. To be creative is also patriotism.
“That’s why we are organising this event to recognise and help flourish creativity among our young generation.”
He urged all to engage themselves in creative activities, saying that creativity is one of the core aspects of human life.
“We are human because we are creative,” he said, calling upon the country people to show creativity in all spheres of their lives.
“We must make ourselves beautiful and make our city beautiful through becoming conscious,” he concluded.
The other 18 awardees also walked away with crests, certificates and prize money.
Rahul Talukder won the first place in the photography contest while Rezwan Razzaq and Suvasish Paul became second and third. They received Tk 1,00,000, Tk 50,000, and Tk 25,000. respectively
Ripa Sarker, Bilal Hossian Nuri and Ashanuzzaman became the first, second and third in lyrics category, receiving Tk 50,000, Tk 25,000 and Tk 15,000 respectively.
The rest twelve contestants also got honourable mention in photography and lyrics category.
The judges’ panel, however, could not select any winners in film categories.
Imtiaz Ibne Sattar, acting chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh , gave vote of thanks.
The award formalities were followed by a spell-binding classical performance by Kaushiki Desikan, daughter of maestro Ajoy Chakrabarty and herself a renowned artiste in India. She was followed by Chakrabarty, who in his varied demonstrations of classical musical forms, gave the Dhaka crowd an event to remember.
It was an evening of profound poetry, swiftly passing into a night of melodious ecstasy.
Source: The Daily Star
