The Bangiya Sahitya Sangskriti Sangsad paid tribute to late eminent cultural personalities who passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic through a special commemorative event Sunday.
The event "Smarane Shraddharghya," jointly organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the Sangskriti Sangsad at the open stage of the academy in the evening, remembered former national professor Anisuzzaman, former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, Bir Uttam CR Dutta, and legendary Indian-Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee.
Also, glowing homage were paid to Father RW Timm, former principal and one of the founders of Notre Dame College in Dhaka, eminent educator Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, thespian Aly Zaker, journalist Kamal Lohani, writer Buddhadev Guha, silver screen actor Sarah Begum Kabori, freedom fighter Abu Osman Chowdhury, former Bangla Academy chairman and folklorist Shamsuzzaman Khan, writer Shankh Ghosh, author Borhan Uddin Khan Jahangir, legendary flute player Indra Mohan Rajbangshi, eminent singer Andrew Kishore, folk icon Fakir Alamgir, and novelist Rabea Khatun.
Actor-playwright Dr Enamul Haque, columnist Syed Abul Moksud, composer Azad Rahman, eminent journalist Atiqullah Khan Masud, legendary painter Murtaja Baseer, dramatist Afsar Ahmed, actor Mahmud Sajjad; poets Alokeranjan Dasgupta, Sufia Ahmed, writer Debesh Roy, Bangla Academy's former director-general Habibullah Siraji, Tagore exponent Mita Huq, silver screen legend ATM Shamsuzzaman, journalist Rahat Khan, former editor of Kali o Kalam Abul Hasnat, rock icon Ayub Bachchu and playwright Mannan Hira were remembered, too.
Noted cultural personalities, including Manchasarathi Ataur Rahman, Ramendu Majumder, Asaduzzaman Nur, Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, M Hamid, Liaquat Ali Lucky, and Sara Zaker joined the event and paid tributes to the late personalities.
President of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote Ghulam Quddus presided over the event.
It was a part of the Sangskriti Samsad's three-day programme at the academy, which was inaugurated Saturday with the observance of World Kindness Day 2021.