Bangla Academy has awarded seven prominent individuals for contributions in the literary and cultural fields and honorary fellowships to seven eminent personalities on Friday.

The academy handed over the awards and fellowships at its 44th annual general meeting organized at the 'Nazrul Mancha' on the premises of Bangla Academy on Friday noon.

Poet, writer and organizer Dr Tasikul Islam Raja received the S’adat Ali Akhand Sahitya Puraskar 2021, Ornithologist Enam Ul Haque received Meher Kabir Bigyansahitya Puraskar 2021, Saumitra Chakravarty won the Halima-Sarfuddin Bigyan Lekhak Puraskar 2021, Ferdousi Mazumder received the maiden edition of the Adhyapak Momtazuddin Ahmed Natyajan Puraskar 2021.

Besides, Sirajul Islam won the Sahityik Mohammed Barkatullah Prabandhasahitya Puraskar 2021, renowned Bangladeshi rhymester Sukumar Barua won the Mazharul Islam Kabita Puraskar 2021 and Dr Atiur Rahman, former Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, received the Rabindra Puraskar 2021 at the event.

Bangla Academy president Ramendu Majumder and Director General Poet Nurul Huda handed over crests, certificates of honour and cheques to the awardees.

Moreover, seven people were awarded Bangla Academy Honorary Fellowship-2021 at the event. Recipients of the Fellowship are - former Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Poet Azizur Rahman Aziz, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) Founder Valerie A Taylor, Ekushey Padak winner Bangladeshi flutist Ustad Azizul Islam, Music Director and Composer Professor Sheikh Saadi Khan, Freedom Fighter and Dramatist M Hamid, and Cultural Personality Golam Quddus.

Bangla Academy honours influential personalities with these special awards and fellowships every year, in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution to the field of Bengali society and culture.