Renowned Sitar artist Bani Mukhopadhyay received the 'Bangaratna Samman' at the ICCR Hall.

Journalist Indrajit Aich

She began her journey with the sitar at the tender age of seven. Inspired by her father, Sudhir Kumar Chakraborty, she has dedicated fifty years of her life to this instrument. She is the accomplished Bengali artist Bani Mukhopadhyay. Today, Tuesday, August 4, 2026, she was honored with the "Banga Ratna Samman" at the ICCR Hall in Kolkata, an event organized by Dreams Entertainment. Actor Shubhajyoti Haldar presented the award, a ceremonial stole (*uttariya*), and a memento to the artist. Distinguished guests present at the ceremony included tabla player Mallar Ghosh; actors Bhaskar Bandyopadhyay and Rishi Mukherjee; actress Swagata Mukherjee;

musicians Saikat Mitra, Swapan Basu, Utpal Fakir, Sahaj Ma, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, and Ashok Bhadra; among many others. Bani Mukhopadhyay was deeply moved to receive this honor in Kolkata for the first time.

In an interview with this reporter, she shared that her childhood dream was to become a sitar artist. She began her training at the age of seven under Shashadhar Dutta in Durgapur. Subsequently, she received training from maestros like Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Pandit Gokul Chandra Nag at different stages of her career.

She has captivated audiences across India and abroad with her performances. Notably, her sitar recitals in Switzerland earned her immense love and respect from the local people. This moment stands as a significant milestone in her long musical career. Reflecting on the "Banga Ratna Samman"—received as she marks fifty years in music—Bani Mukhopadhyay expressed that achieving such a major honor has further deepened her sense of responsibility and commitment toward music for the future.