KOLKATA: Tennis legend Leander Paes, an 18-time Grand Slam winner, was conferred with the 32nd PC Chandra Puraskaar on Sunday at the Scienc e City Auditorium. Instituted by the PC Chandra Group, the award recognises exceptional achievements across diverse fields and honours the legacy of its visionary founder, Purna Chandra Chandra.
The Puraskaar, carrying a tax-free honorarium of Rs 20 lakhs is awarded annually on the founder’s birth anniversary. Since its inception in 1993, it has celebrated national icons including grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, noble laureate Kailash Satyarthi, veteran singer Asha Bhosle, Kapil Dev among others. “The PC Chandra Puraskaar is a tribute to those who inspire greatness and this evening stands as a reflection of our founding values,” said Uday Kumar Chandra, Managing Director of PC Chandra Jewellers.
Meanwhile, Paes, who recently became the first Asian man alongside Vijay Amritraj to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, thanked his mother who was sitting in the audience for buying him his first fancy tennis racket. “Today is Mother’s Day and whatever I’m today is because of my mother,” he said.
The Olympian looked back at his childhood days in Kolkata and said how he grew up on the streets of Kolkata playing gully cricket and football.
“It gives me great happiness to receive the award in my hometown,” said the former tennis player.
The evening also saw the presence of Swami Suvirananda of Ramakrishna Mission, Arun Kumar Chandra, Managing Director of PC Chandra Group and Abhijit Laha, Director of Chandra’s Green Projects Ltd.