Polls near, Assam gives away Shankardeva awards for 5 yrs at one go

Polls near, Assam gives away Shankardeva awards for 5 yrs at one go
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, MAR 2: With barely two months to go for Assembly elections in Assam, the state government decided to confer the annual Shrimanta Shankardeva awards on five distinguished personalities from the field of art and literature simultaneously for the past five years, beginning 1997.

The awardees -- Kelucharan Mohapatra, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Amjad Ali Khan, Sonaram Chutia and Ilaram Das -- were honoured by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee today. The other awardees include Assamese film-maker of international repute Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Sonaram Chutia, a writer who has spent his life in preaching the message of Sankaradeva' and litterateur Ilaram Das.

A jovial Prime Minister described himself as a ``stepney'' for President K.R. Narayanan at the function and said ``it cannot be as good as the original tyre but gets you to the destination''.

Continuing in a light vein, he ``apologised'' that he had to give away the awards instead of the President, who could not attend the function. ``You (awardees) have to take the award from my rough hands. I hold myself responsible for this. But I also feel honoured to give away this honour.''

In a message read out by Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the President congratulated the awardees and said culture was the basis of unity.

Vajpayee said Shankaradeva had played a major role in resurrection of society and showed the path of light, respect for women and equality among human beings. He said Assam was going ahead in the face of difficult conditions because of the path shown by Shankaradeva.

Instituted in 1986 in the memory of the 18th century saint Shankardeva who led the Reformist movement in Assam, the awards were aimed at honouring individuals whose lives were an example towards establishing universal human values and creating a new society free from class differences and religious intolerance. The awards carry Rs 3 lakh, a citation and a gold medal.

He said Odissi exponent Kelucharan Mahapatra was blessed with eternal youth and vigour. Referring to sarod maestro Amjad Ali khan, who is from Gwalior, he said: ``I was born in Gwalior. They say that even a child cries in a raaga there.''

Amidst rumours of a possible tie-up between the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the BJP to fight the Congress party in the coming Assembly elections, Vajpayee's attending the function is being seen as significant in the present political scenario.

Addressing the gathering after receiving the award, Amjad Ali khan said the people of the North-East complained of being neglected by the Centre and appealed to the government to develop the region as a tourist destination.

Earlier, Union Culture Minister Ananth Kumar said the Centre would complete the remaining construction of the Srimanta Sankaradeva complex in Guwahati.