Sunil da – Remembrance Meet

The passing away of Sunil da has left a void not only in the literary world but also in many other areas.

I on behalf of The Bengal members, held a Remembrance Meet on November 3 at the Indian Centre for Cultural Relations (ICCR) so that we could pay our last tribute to our The Bengal President.

Mrs Swati Ganguly and Mr Souvik Ganguly, the wife and son of Sunil da were present there along with most of the The Benga board members who are all eminent Kolkatans from different walks of life.

It was a very touching get together as everyone paid rich tributes to their beloved and respected Sunil da in their own special way. Arindam Sil conducted the proceedings of the meet.

Working President of The Bengal, Nabaneeta Dev Sen shared her experiences and her long association with Sunil da.

Roopa Ganguly, Board member, perform a poignant song Achey Dukkho, achey mrityu… (There is sadness, there’s death…) dedicated to Sunil da. Goutam Ghose recited from one of Sunil da’s famous poetry.

Usha Uthup, who was out of city, sent a CD of a special Frank Sinatra song that she has dedicated to Sunil da. Bickram Ghosh, our new Board Member, spoke on a song sung by Srikanto Acharya which he tuned to a timeless poem Ei hath chuyeche Nirar mukh from the film Hothat Nirar Jonno based on Sunil da’s story Rani O Abhinash.

Jogen Choudhury presented Mrs Swati Ganguly and Souvik a specially prepared sketch of Sunil da as his mark of respect and admiration.

Mr H M Bangur, Chairman, The Bengal, announced that The Bengal would institute a The Bengal Sunil Ganguly Award for Excellence is Literature – with a Rs 2 lac cash award to be given annually for outstanding work in Bengali literature. Other The Bengal members Mr Chuni Goswami, Ms Agnimitra Pal, Md Mansoor Alam, Ms Arpita Chatterjee, Ms Anandi Ghose and Mr K Jaweed Yusuf were also present.

After the Remembrance Meet, The Bengal team members convene a closed door meeting of the board and elected Mrs Nabaneeta Dev Sen the new President of The Bengal and Jogen Choudhury as the Working President.
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