
Cultural Correspondent
Seven
Gracing the ceremony as chief guest, President Abdul Hamid handed over the awards to seven cultural luminaries for their outstanding contributions to their respective fields.
Describing culture as a safeguard against social degradation, President Hamid also said: “The flourishing of culture is very important for removing militancy, fanaticism
“Due to satellite culture, foreign culture is now encroaching on local culture. We have to accept all good things that go with our culture and heritage,” he added.
The president also said cultural personalities can never do any harm to society. President Hamid urged guardians to inspire their children to engage in different cultural activities along with their studies.
The President handed over the prestigious ShilpakalaPadak 2018 to the seven cultural personalities in seven categories.
The recipients of the awards are — Alakesh Ghosh in fine arts, M Hamid in dramatics, Sunil Chandra Das in instrumental music, Shukla Sarkar in dance, Gaur Gopal Haldar in vocal music, Jayanta Chattopadhyay in recitation, and Mina Barua in folk culture.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs
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