A two-day Sultan Festival has opened in Narail to mark the 102nd birth anniversary of world-renowned painter S.M. Sultan. As part of the celebration, a children’s painting competition was held at the Sultan Stage grounds starting at 10 a.m. Friday, August 28. Roughly 400 children took part in the festival. Their brushes brought to life a range of subjects, including the Bangladesh flag, flowers and fruit, nature, rural scenery, portraits of Sultan, and boat races. A “photography exhibition” is also being held, with participation from journalists, students, amateur photographers and people from various other professions.
The competition, organized by the S.M. Sultan Shishu Charu O Charukola Foundation and the Bengal Foundation, was inaugurated Friday morning by chief guest Mostafizur Rahman Alek, a war hero and administrator of the district council.
Also present were Narail Government Victoria College Principal Professor Haider Ali Dewan; District Primary Education Officer Jahangir Alam; retired Khulna University teacher Bimanesh Chandra Biswas; S.M. Sultan Shishu Charu O Charukola Foundation president Sheikh Hanif; member secretary Sasim Sarkar; S.M. Sultan Memorial Museum curator Tandra Mukherjee; assistant curator Mehedi Hasan Rana; S.M. Sultan Foundation life member and Narail Press Club vice president Sultan Mahmud; cultural figures Asad Rahman and Nazmul Hasan Liza; and other admirers of Sultan’s work. The two-day Sultan Festival includes a discussion session, an award ceremony and cultural programs.
The renowned painter S.M. Sultan was born on August 10, 1924, in Machimdia, Narail. He died on October 10, 1994. Known as the “painter of soil and people,” Sultan was laid to rest at the memorial museum grounds in Kurigram area of Narail town.