Mamata Banerjee Conferred with Bangla Academy Award

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday was awarded her government-run Bangla Academy's maiden honour for her "relentless literary pursuit".

The award, introduced this year by the Academy was announced by West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu for Mamata's book "Kabita Bitan."

The award was announced on the occasion of a function held by the state government's information and culture department on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary in Kolkata.

Although Mamata was on the dais at the function, she did not accept the award on her own and it was received by Bratya Basu on her behalf.

Basu said Mamata Banerjee's name was chosen for the award by a panel of some of the "best" writers of Bengal.

The award will be given to those who constantly pursue literature even after working tirelessly in various other fields.

"Kabita Bitan", launched at the 2020 Kolkata Book Fair, contains 946 poems written by Mamata.