Three iconic personalities receive Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Padak

Ekushey Padak winning veteran journalist and cultural personality, Kamal Lohani, along with two promising architects -- Farid Uddin Ahmed and Jami Al Shafi, who jointly designed the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial, received the prestigious Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Padak 2019 for their outstanding contribution to their respective fields.

The award giving ceremony took place yesterday at the Music and Dance Centre Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. State Minister for Cultural Affairs, K M Khalid, MP attended the occasion as chief guest. Shawan Mahmud, daughter of Altaf Mahmud and Member-Secretary, Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Foundation, delivered the welcome address, thanking everyone for their support throughout the last 15 years. Renowned film director and thespian, Nasiruddin Yousuff, presided over the programme.

The Altaf Mahmud Foundation confers this award every year on deserving personalities to in honour of the late singer-musician, cultural activist and martyred Freedom Fighter of the 1971 Liberation War.

Kamal Lohani, one of the awardees, speaking at the event.

The award was presented by K M Khalid, while Altaf Mahmud’s family members presented the prize money and uttorio. The awardees were privileged to receive this honour, and expressed their gratitude at the event. “Altaf Mahmud was a pioneering cultural activist, who had a strong political conscience. He had a heart full of courage, patriotism and melody. He sacrificed his entire life to establish the rights of the people. None of us can forget what he did for our nation,” said Kamal Lohani, sharing many untold stories that he had with the martyred Freedom Fighter.

“He will forever be remembered for composing the timeless song, Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano, as people all over the world now sing this in different languages on every International Mother Language Day (21 February),” said Farid Uddin Ahmed, who also shared untold stories of creating the memorial for the martyred intellectuals.

“We are elated to receive the award named after Shaheed Altaf Mahmud, who played a key role in many glorious cultural and political movements of Bangladesh,” said Jami Al Shafi.

Masuf Rasul beautifully wrote the Shangshabachan for the awardees, of which he read out the one he composed for Jami Al Shafi. Sangeeta Imam read out the Shangshabachan written for Kamal Lohani, while Shawan Mahmud eloquently read aloud the one composed for Farid Uddin Ahmed.

Renowned elocutionist Hasan Arif recited a compilation of poems themed Mayer Sathey Chheler Katha at the event, while Biplob Raihan rendered the famous Altaf Mahmud song, O Bangali.

Shaheed Altaf Mahmud Foundation has been organising this award since 2005, in remembrance of the great Altaf Mahmud. The foundation is run by the family members of the martyred, and the guerrilla Freedom Fighters of the Crack Platoon. This award has so far been conferred on 21 renowned artists, actors, thespians, musicians, writers and cultural personalities.

Altaf Mahmud was posthumously awarded the Ekushey Padak in 1977, and the Independence Award in 2004, for his special contribution to Bengali culture and the Liberation War. He was abducted on August 30, 1971 by Pakistani occupation forces, and never returned since then.