In PIX: WB honours its legends with Banga Vibhushan award

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday presented the Banga Vibhushan awards to 13 luminaries from various fields.

The legends who received the Banga Vibhusan - the highest civilian award of Bengal - included Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, hockey player Leslie Claudius, painter Jogen Choudhury, theatre personalities Rudraparasad Sengupta, Bhibhas Chakraborty, Shaoli Mitra, writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sanjib Chattopadhyay, national award winning filmmaker Goutam Ghosh, poet Joy Goswami, actor Ranjit Mullick, classical singer Ajoy Chakraborty and Shehnai exponent Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussein Khan.

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In 2011, the new Mamata government started the Banga-Vibhushan awards, where personalities in various fields were awarded annually. The chief minister who presented the award expressed her happiness in being able to felicitate the legends of Bengal

"On May 20 last year, we had started our journey. So from next year we will host this award ceremony on this very day," Mamata Banerjee said.

Suchitra Sen was not present at the ceremony on Sunday and her award was accepted by her daughter, actress Moonmoon Sen.

Hockey player Leslie Claudius, a Guinness World Record holder for being part of a hockey team to win the maximum number of medals at the Olympics, said, "I am the happiest man in this world."

The West Bengal government also felicitated singer Nachiketa Chakraborty, percussionist Bikram Ghosh and classical singer Ustad Rashid Khan with the Banga Bhushan award.

The Trinamool Congress government had awarded legendary singer Manna Dey and writer Mahasweta Devi and seven others last year.

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