By IANS,
Kolkata : Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and renowned painter Jogen Chowdhury were Friday conferred with lifetime achievement awards by luxury accessories maker Mont Blanc and Dakshinee, a premier music academy in Kolkata.
The honour was conferred on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Nobel laureate and eminent economist Amartya Sen will also be honoured with the
lifetime achievement award in the US by a Mont Blanc representative.
Sudeb Guha Thakurta, general secretary of Dakshinee, said: “To celebrate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, we are facilitating Amartya Sen, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Jogen Chowdhury. It gives us immense pleasure that these icons have accepted this honour.”
Dilip Doshi, representative of Mont Blanc and former Indian cricketer, said: “When Dakshinee approached me with the year-long celebrations of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, I personally felt it would be both a privilege and an honour for Mont Blanc to be closely involved with this very emotional and cultural journey.”
Reacting to the honour, Amjad Ali Khan said: “Classical musicians were not very happy about Rabindra Sangeet, because he took liberties. Only a genius can take liberty. There is something new and something secret in his creations.”