West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday presented the 'Banga Samman' awards to 20 stalwarts in various disciplines and organisations and expressed hope the state would <g data-gr-id="10">makes</g> a mark globally.
"We want our cultural world, our films, our literature to make a mark in the international arena. Those who are present here are stalwarts in their own fields. We are proud that we could felicitate them," Banerjee said at the award ceremony here. The second highest category 'Banga <g data-gr-id="12">Bivushan</g> Sammana' was given to Indian classical singer Girija Devi, Bangladeshi Nazrul Geet singer Feroza Begum (posthumously) and the Ramakrishna Mission.
Other recipients of the award include instrumentalists Manilal Nag and Buddhadeb Dasgupta, tabla player Shankar Ghosh, former Indian Army chief Gen. Shankar Roy Chowdhry (retd.), singers Kabir Suman and Rashid Khan.