The two-day “Sultan Festival,” marking the 102nd birth anniversary of world-renowned painter S M Sultan, has concluded.
At the closing event held around 8 p.m. Saturday, August 29, at Narail’s Sultan Stage, honorary crests were presented to the winners of a “photography exhibition” and a “painting competition.”
Five people, including DBC’s Narail correspondent Farhad Khan, received honorary crests for excellence in the photography exhibition. Forty people from various professions, including journalists, students and amateur photographers, took part in the photography exhibition.
Journalist Farhad Khan’s photo was themed “Beautiful Bengal.” The “Beautiful Bengal” nature-and-wildlife photo was taken at the lake of Arunima Resort Golf Club, located in the Panipara area of Narail’s Naragati police station. Meanwhile, 50 children and adolescents were awarded prizes across three categories in the children’s painting competition.
Organized by the S M Sultan Shishu Charu O Charukola Foundation and the Bengal Foundation, the closing day of the Sultan Festival had war veteran Mostafizur Rahman Alek, administrator of the district council, as chief guest.
Also present were Narail Government Victoria College principal Prof Haider Ali Dewan; retired Khulna University teacher Bimanesh Chandra Biswas; Narail Sadar police station inspector (investigation) Ajay Kumar Kundu; S M Sultan Shishu Charu O Charukola Foundation president Sheikh Hanif; member secretary Sasim Sarkar; S M Sultan Memorial Gallery curator Tandra Mukherjee; assistant curator Mehedi Hasan Rana; painters Nikhil Das and D D Mallik; cultural figure Asad Rahman; and admirers of Sultan’s work.
The closing event also featured a staging of the play “Still a Slave” by Drama Circle, Narail. Meanwhile, a rural fair featuring recitation and cultural programs drew large crowds.
The two-day Sultan Festival was inaugurated last Friday around 10 a.m. at the Sultan Stage grounds.
Renowned painter S M Sultan was born August 10, 1924, in Machimdia, Narail. He died October 10, 1994. Known as the “painter of soil and people,” Sultan was laid to eternal rest at the memorial gallery grounds in Kurigram, Narail town.