Rezwana Choudhury Bannya gets Padma Shri Award

The Padma Shri Award, the fourth-highest civilian award presented by India, is announced on the occasion of India’s Republic Day, January 26, every year.

This year, celebrated Bangladeshi Rabindra Sangeet singer Rezwana Choudhury Bannya has  got the award. 

The Bangladeshi musician’s name was among the list of Padma Awards published by the Indian government on Thursday.

Bannya, who was recognised for ‘distinguished service’ in the field of art, is the only Bangladeshi on the list this year.

Born on Jan 13, 1957 in the Rangpur district, Bannya first studied at Chhayanaut and then at Visva Bharati University in India. There she grew close with a number of notable musicians, including Santidev Ghosh, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Nilima Sen and Ashish Bandyopadhyay.

Bannya, the founder of music education institute Surer Dhara, has written several books on Tagore’s music.