Cultural Correspondent
The Firoza Begum Memorial Award will be conferred for the third time this year. The award will be formally handed over to this year’s recipient the famous Runa Laila. She will receive the award from Vice Chancellor of University of Dhaka, Professor Md Akhtaruzzaman at the Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Auditorium of the university.
She will get a gold medal and the designated one lac taka prizemoney. The highest CGPA holder of the last BA session of the university’s music department will also get an award. This award, a gold medal, will be formally handed over on the upcoming convocation ceremony of the university.
For getting her name as this year’s awardee Runa Laila thanked the University of Dhaka authority and everybody concerned with the arrangement. She said that she has listened to many songs sung by Firoza Begum, who according to her has enriched Nazrul Sangeet practices in the country. It is honour to receive an honour dedicated to her.
The award was introduced in 2016 by ACI Foundation and the family members of Firoza Begum. Previous recipients of the award were Sabina Yasmin and Rezwana Choudhury Bannya. Born in 1930 in Faridpur, Firoza Begum has received Independence Award (1979), Banga Bibhushan Samman (2015) from the government of West Bengal and more for her contribution to Nazrul music. She died on September 9 in 2014.
