Ragini Chakravarty Gets Business Express Kala-Shree Puraskar For Music!

Ragini Chakravarty Gets Business Express Kala-Shree Puraskar For Music!

By CHINMAY CHAKRAVARTY - August 27, 2014

Reputed classical vocalist from Assam, Ragini Chakravarty has been conferred with the Maharashtra state level Kala-Shree Puraskar in a dignified ceremony held on Thursday, the 21st of August, 2014 in Sangli, Western Maharashtra. Shree Foundation Trust maintained by the Business Express group of Marathi newspapers and periodicals has been giving these annual awards for the last 19 years in different fields of Arts, Academic, Cooperative sector, Business, Administration—Society and Social activism. Ragini Chakravarty was chosen for the award in the Arts (Kala) category for her contribution to music and for her efforts to promote music in Assam and Maharashtra. The award was formally presented to Ragini by the Chief Guest of the ceremony, Dr. Ved Prakash Mishra, Chairman of Medical Council of India. The ceremony was presided over by eminent economist Dr. J F Patil. Seva Shree Awards were also presented to officials/officers/activists from various fields of activity for distinguished service and work.

Talking to media persons Ragini thanked the organizers for selecting her for this great honor and for the exemplary hospitality offered to her. She said that being from the far north eastern region performing and working for music based in Mumbai the Award was of great significance and it had given her tremendous inspiration to surge ahead in the pursuit of music. Thanking all music lovers of Maharashtra Ragini said that this wonderful state has always been very appreciative of classical music and that she had got tremendous response in all her concerts across Maharashtra.

Earlier, Ragini Chakravarty regaled a packed auditorium with her light classical compositions and Bhajans.

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Amulya Kumar Chakravarty Memorial Trust Award

Amulya Kumar Chakravarty was a writer and a celebrated translator of world epics. He translated Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad and Virgil’s Aenid into Assamese. These books were published in the seventies and eighties in Assam, India; and even now are bestsellers going into multiple editions. Doubled with a flowing original language and strict authenticity these translated epics are hailed in Assam as trend setting translations.

Amulya Kumar Chakravarty had a hard life. Being a farmer’s son he went to the nearby town for studies and after graduation set off for Calcutta (now Kolkata) for post graduation in English. His ambition was to become a college teacher so that he could devote his life to education and writings. But due to economic hardships he had to come back half way and was forced to join Assam Civil Service of which he could not ever come out. He also contracted diabetes after forty years of age. Uprightness, honesty and efficiency ruling his career he always struggled for economic stability. He never had enough money and always took pride in telling that his only investments in life had been on his four children's education. Burning a lot of midnight oil, literally, and waging a constant war against mosquitoes he continued his writing activities and apart from the three translated epics he also wrote numerous short stories and a half completed novel. His exemplary honesty remains a source of inspiration for his admirers in today's environment of rampant corruption.

Amulya Kumar Chakravarty passed away in 1991. His family and local literary bodies in Guwahati formed a memorial Trust in 2002 and decided to institute an Award for excellent literary translations in Assamese on a biennial basis. The first Award consisting of cash prize and certificate was given in 2003 to one of the nominated books. This gave a tremendous boost to promote genuine translation works in Assam.

The Trust has announced the Award for 2011 to eminent author Dr. Prafulla Kataky for his outstanding contribution to Assamese literary translation work.

The Award was presented at an august function held on October 09, 2011 at Veterinary College Auditorium, Guwahati.

For 2013 the Sixth Amulya Kumar Chakravarty Memorial Translation Literature Award was presented to Author-Translator Bipul Deuri at a dignified ceremony held on 6th October, the 22nd Death Anniversary of Amulya Kumar Chakravarty, at Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati. The Award was handed over by Imran Shah, President of Assam Sahitya Sabha. A Painting Competition for Children was organized by Shrutinaad earlier on the day as a part of the event.

The Seventh Amulya Kumar Chakravarty Memorial Translation Literature Award has been presented to Dhrubajyoti Borthakur for Assamese translation of Hermann Hesse's book 'Siddhartha'. The award was ceremonially handed over by the President of Assam Sahitya Sabha, Dr Dhrubajyoti Bora on 4th October, 2015 at Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati

Music and More>>>

Ragini Chakravarty is a Hindustani Classical Vocalist of the famed Kirana gharana and a disciple of Padmabhushan Dr. Prabha Atre. Ragini has been performing all over India with her classical recitals, light compositions and sangeet se sangeet tak concerts. She can be consulted here for program details. Under the banner of Shrutinaad Ragini also conducts regular classes on vocal music.

Ragini's second audio album 'Bhoyai Oi...Kahani Ahiba Ghuri' (O' My Beloved...When Are You Coming Back Home!) was released at Guwahati on 4th January by renowned writer-author Lakshminandan Bora. This album consists of ten immortal Assamese songs of poet-composer-author-freedom fighter Kamalananda Bhattacharyya. Beauty of words and melody make these numbers irresistible.

Contact: info.shrutinaad@gmail.com