Syed Hasan Imam and Ferdousi Majumdar honoured with Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Padak

Eminent cultural personalities Syed Hasan Imam and Ferdousi Majumdar were awarded with this year's Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Padak for their contribution to their respective fields.

The Altaf Mahmud Foundation gives this award each year to recall the memory of the musician, cultural activist and martyred freedom fighter of the Liberation War. Both the artistes feel immensely privileged to receive this honour. “We work hard for appreciation, but to be appreciated with this award is just on another level, as Altaf Mahmud was a martyred freedom fighter and none of us can forget what he did for our nation,” says Ferdousi Majumdar.

Syed Hasan Imam, who was also a friend of Altaf Mahmud, met him for the last time in 1971. “Altaf Mahmud played a key role in the liberation of our nation,” he says. “Later generations should be educated about the sacrifices he made for our nation and the difficulties he went through. He was a great human being.”

Even though Ferdousi Majumdar didn't know Altaf Mahmud personally, she knew him only through his work. “As a music composer, Altaf Mahmud is not only well-known in Bangladesh, but on the international stage as well, since the Mother Language Day is now celebrated internationally,” she says, adding that Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano, a song which he composed, will live on in our hearts forever.