Lata Mangeshkar to be conferred Bengal's Bangabibhushan award

Kolkata: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar will be conferred the "Bangabibhushan" award by the West Bengal government in recognition of her contribution to Bengali songs, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata on Saturday.

"Lata Mangeshkar has sung a large number of memorable Bengali songs. In order to honour her contribution, we have decided to bestow the Bangabibhushan award to her this year," Banerjee told media persons at the state secretariat Nabanna.

Banerjee said she has already spoken to Mangeshkar who has agreed to accept the award.

The chief minister said she would personally go to Mumbai and present the award to the singer at her residence after the Durga Puja festival. Banerjee would be accompanied by music company Saregama chairman Sanjiv Goenka.

The earlier recipients of the award initiated in 2011 include danseuse Amala Shankar, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, renowned singer Manna Dey, Aauthor Mahasweta Devi, footballer Sailen Manna, hockey Olympian Leslie Claudius, painter Jogen Chowdhury, writr Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, filmmaker Goutam Ghosh, Hindustani classical music exponent Ajoy Chakraborty and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly.