A seven-day fair will begin today in Narail marking the 90th birth anniversary of renowned artist SM Sultan.
The SM Sultan Foundation and the district administration organised the fair titled “Sultan Mela” in front of Sultan Mancha on Narail Government Victoria College premises.
Sultan’s 90th birth anniversary was on August 10 last year but the fair was delayed as winter is more convenient for organising such an event, Member Secretary of SM Sultan Foundation Ashiqur Rahman Miku told the Dhaka Tribune.
Narail Deputy Commissioner Abdul Gaffar Khan, also the president of the foundation, said preparations had been taken to make the event successful.
In the fair and elsewhere in the town, a range of events will be held, including art competition, exhibition, volleyball competition, kabaddi, wrestling, bullfight, handball competition, jari songs and a seminar on Sultan’s life and works.
A total of 100 stalls with traditional textile and cottage industry products will be sold in the fair.
Dr Gowher Rizvi, adviser to the prime minister on international affairs, is to attend the inauguration ceremony as the chief guest while Gaffar Khan will preside over the programme.
Lawmaker of Narail 1 constituency Kabirul Haque Mukti, that of Narail 2 constituency Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, Narail District Council Administrator Subhas Chandra Bose, Police Super Sardar Rakibul Islam and Principal of Narail Government Victoria College Sheikh Anwar Hossen are expected to attend the programme as special guests.
Sultan Padak will be given on the concluding day and artist Kalidas Karmaker will receive the accolade this year.
Sultan was born on August 10, 1923, in a poor family at Masumdia village in Narail Sadar upazila. His artworks were displayed in Shimla of India in 1946, and in Lahore and Karachi in 1948-49.
In 1959, Sultan’s paintings were exhibited in New York, Boston, London and University of Michigan university. He joined the international conference of painters in the US in 1950 as the representative of the then Pakistan government.
The famed artist won Ekushey Padak in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Swadhinata Padak in 1993. He was declared the Man of Asia in 1982 by the University of Cambridge.
Sultan died at the Combined Military Hospital in Jessore on October 10, 1994.