Talented, esteemed people of Bengal refused government of India’s charity. Image Courtesy – NDTV & Navbharat Times
The talented and esteemed people of Bengal refused the Government of India’s awards on the eve of Republic Day. The award was like charity by the central government. It happened in the field of music in Bengal for the second time. The talented musicians of Bengal and the well-esteemed politician and also the known face of Bengali literature and culture showed that they do not bother about the government of India’s charity because they are much more established and famous in their own fields.
Sandhya Mukherjee
Gitashree Sandhya Mukherjee did the same thing like what Hemanta Mukherjee did in the year 1987. She refused the ‘Padma Shri’ award by feeling extremely humiliated and disrespected.
Gitashree Sandhya Mukherjee was contacted by phone by the concerned ministry of the central government on Tuesday afternoon. The legendary artist has been very ill for some days. She fell in the toilet 4-days ago, and she has been suffering from cough and cold also. She is physically so bewildered and annoyed in her 90s’ that she is not holding any phone calls. However, she somehow managed to hold the phone call after being informed as an emergency call from the central government.
She was told in Hindi, “We want to award you Padma Shri tomorrow. Will you receive it? So, your name will be announced tomorrow morning along with other awardees!”
She could not have imagined that the ‘Padma Shri’ title could be given in this manner. Then she thought why the ‘Padma Shri’ award after so many contributions to the music industry for so many years? Many of her contemporaries in the Mumbai music industry have been awarded the ‘Bharat Ratna’, the ‘Padma Vibhushan’, at least the ‘Padma Bhushan’ for meritorious reasons.
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She felt irritated about the way of the last-minute offer without having thought about seniority or contributions. She quickly informed them that she was rejecting that offer. She told the officers of the central government, “I do not want the Padma Shri award. One more thing you should know, my audience is my award.”
Those who know Gitashree Sandhya Mukherjee, know it very well that she is a woman of clay. The artist expressed her in a very arrogant and somewhat unnaturally angry manner to a news reporter, “Can you just tell me what they think? They will insult me like this in my nineties? They are proposing the Padma Shri award in this way at the last moment of my life? I am one of the rare singers in India who has not only sung numerous commercial film songs but also recorded many classical ones. Albums of a variety of songs were released. I am also a classical artist. I learned music from Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan. I have taken training from Ustad Amir Khan. Show a famous classical artist who has been disrespected with Padma Shri in this way!”
It was understood that she was ill. She was harassed and annoyed also at the phone calls in this manner about the ‘Padma Shri’ title. She just said, “I hope the people of Bengal will understand why I returned the Padma Shri title out of pain. I really don’t need these titles. My reward is their heartfelt love for so many years at the end of my life.”
Pandit Anindya Chatterjee:
This time the Padma Shri honour was rejected by tabla artist Pandit Anindya Chatterjee. He said, “I folded my hands at 7 am in the morning and said on the telephone that I cannot take this honour.”
But, why this rejection of the ‘Padma Shri’ award?
“It’s too late to give me this honour. I think I should have got this honour 15 years ago. Many of my contemporaries, many junior artists have already got Padma Shri or Padma Bhushan,” he told to news reporters. There has been a delay, and for this delay, I think it is not right for me to receive the Padma Shri anymore. So, I am refusing the Padma Shri honour.”
He also told, “My art entity is dedicated to the country. I have no hesitation in whatever the government is. I will continue to work. I will try to brighten the face of the country’s people. If the government shows me love then I should be given with due respect. I don’t think it would be right to accept it now.”
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya:
Earlier, the name of another former Chief Minister of West Bengal, the late Jyoti Basu, was announced for the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award. But he refused that honour. Now it is reported that Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is also going to walk in the path of his predecessor and reject the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.
Former state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is being awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’. The Center has also placed Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on the list of recipients of ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2022. The veteran leftist leader is being awarded for his outstanding contribution in the social field.
But, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is not accepting this award. The former chief minister said this in a statement, “I do not know anything about the Padma Bhushan award, no one told me about it. If I was given the Padma Bhushan award, I will reject it.”
It was supposed to happen from the beginning. As soon as it was announced, CPM state secretary Suryakanta Mishra started talking to Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s house. It was the time that Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s statement formally denied the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award. Earlier, the name of another former Chief Minister of the state, the late Jyoti Basu, was announced for the ‘Bharat Ratna’. But he too refused the honour. Now, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya also walked in the path of his predecessor.
The government of India’s charity seems disrespectful to the people who are already famous in their own field.
