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The Bangla Academy is set to honour Prof Anwarul Haque and artist Shabnam Mushtari with the Nazrul Award 2025 in recognition of their contributions to the study and promotion of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's life and works.
According to a statement issued on Saturday, the prestigious award will be presented at the Nazrul Jayanti programme on Sunday.
Each award includes a cash prize of Tk 100,000, along with a commemorative plaque and an honorary scarf, bdnews24.com reports.
Shabnam, who began performing Nazrul Sangeet in the early 1960s, became an icon of the genre on television, releasing several albums featuring the Rebel Poet's songs.
Among them, her “Laili Tomar Eshechhe Phiriya” long-play record was released by HMV and is preserved in the sound section of the Library of Congress in the United States. New York-based publishing house Muktadhara also released her album "Best of Shabnam Mushtari".
Her sisters, Yasmin Mushtari and Parveen Mushtari, are also Nazrul Sangeet artists.
Shabnam received the Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh's second-highest civilian award, in 1997 for her contributions to the practice and popularisation of Nazrul's music.
Born on Jan 19, 1952 in Cumilla's Mogoltuli, Anwarul was a student of literature at Chittagong University. Having spent the majority of his life teaching, Anwarul has been deeply immersed in studying Nazrul's life and works.
NAZRUL JAYANTI CELEBRATIONS
The Bangla Academy is gearing up for a range of events on Sunday to mark the 126th birth anniversary of Nazrul.
The academy will begin the day by paying tribute to the poet with flowers at his grave.
At 4pm, a seminar on Nazrul will be held at the academy's Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Auditorium, where Prof Mohammad Azam, director general of the academy, will deliver the welcome speech.
Jaglul Asad, assistant professor of English at the Government Saadat College in Tangail, will then present an article titled Nandan's “Banshri and Turja” (Flute and Trumpet) or Some Aspects of Nazrul's Literary Thoughts.
The programme will include a cultural segment featuring the musical drama “Dekhbo Ebar Jagat Take”.