Kolkata, May 27 (PTI) Actor Mamata Shankar who got the ‘Padma Shri’ from the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday, said receiving the award was a “feeling which cannot be expressed in words”.
An emotional Shankar told PTI she considered it a “blessing of God.
“I am feeling so happy but cannot express what is going on in my mind. The government of India has chosen me for being conferred the honour but I had never expected this, never thought about this, never imagined this,” she said.
Asserting she has never planned her moves, Shankar said hence she felt overwhelmed “getting such huge recognition.” Shankar has acted in over 50 films, including Dooratwa (1978), Ek Din Pratidin (1979), Kharij (1982), Grihajuddha (1982), Shakha Prosakha (1991), Agantuk (1991) and Prajapati (2023).
“I remember Mrinal da (Mrinal Sen), Manik da (Satyajit Ray) and Buddhadeb Dasgupta for guiding me in the early years of my career,” she had said immediately after getting the news in January.
Apart from Shankar, the President conferred Padma Shri to industrialist Sajjan Bhajanka, educationist Nagendra Nath Roy, monk Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) from West Bengal, in the fields of Trade and Industry, Art, Literature, Education and Spiritualism during a Civil Investiture Ceremony.
Kartik Maharaj said people wearing saffron robes don’t hanker for awards and state honours and his organisation Bharat Sevashram Sangha will benefit to carry forward its philanthropic work with this money.
Others also expressed happiness and said they were humbled and honoured for getting the honour.
The union government had announced the Padma Awards on the eve of the 76th Republic Day. PTI SUS RG
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