Kolkata, April 25 (FN Agency) P. C. Chandra Puraskaar, the annual national award from the P. C. Chandra Group, was conferred upon India’s most iconic sarod maestro, Padma Vibhusan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. This was the 29th edition of the annual award ceremony. Sarod legend, Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan received the felicitation in the presence of Chief Guest, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, A.K. Chandra, Managing Director, P.C. Chandra Group and Suvro Chandra, Joint Managing Director, P.C.Chandra Jewellers at Science City Auditorium, here on Sunday evening. The award ‘P.C. Chandra Puraskaar’ carries an honorarium of Rs. 10 lakhs which is tax exempt. The event also saw a soulful performance by National award-winning singer Imon Chakraborty. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is the sixth-generation sarod player in his illustrious family. His seven-decade long musical journey has enriched Indian classical music with innumerable credits and offerings.
Best known for his clear and fast ‘ekhara taans’, Ustaadji was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2001, the Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the UNESCO award, UNICEF National Ambassadorship, ‘Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters’ of France, and Fukuoka Cultural Grand Prize of Japan in his musical journey. P.C. Chandra Group introduced this award ceremony in 1993 as a tribute to their founding father, late Purna Chandra Chandra. P. C. Chandra Puraskaar has always recognized people from various walks of life, who have achieved great heights in their respective fields like Manna De (1993) followed by Professor U R Rao (1994), Sunil M Gavaskar (1995), P.T. Usha (2004), Mrinal Sen (2008), Gulzaar Saab (1997), Ustad Bismillah Khan Saheb (2002), Anju Bobby George (2007), Sourav Ganguly (2011), Hema Malini (2013), Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia (2014), Dr. K. Radhakrishnan (2015), Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (2016), Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi Ji (2017), Dr. Devi Shetty (2019), Kapil Dev (2021) etc.
Speaking on this occasion, Suvro Chandra, Joint Managing Director, P.C. Chandra Jewellers said, “Our annual award ceremony in reminiscence of our founding father late Shri Purna Chandra Chandra gives us the opportunity to honour veteran and multifaceted legends of our country. This year we feel extremely honored to be able to felicitate the Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with the P.C. Chandra Puraskaar. The ‘Sarod Samrat’ has brought fame to Indian classical music with the mesmerizing sound and rhythm of his string instrument and taken the classical music to the level of honour and appreciation on the global platform. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude also go to all notable dignitaries who have graced the occasion. We wish to take this legacy of P.C. Chandra Group forward, celebrating excellence.”