Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal felicitated Sattriya dance exponent Jatin Goswami in a programme at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Friday.
Goswami who was recently honoured with the Akademi Ratna award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi was felicitated with an eri shawl, a certificate and a xorai.
During the programme, Sonowal lauded Goswami’s remarkable contributions to the classical dance form of Assam.
He also urged the youth to take inspiration from Goswami’s works and strive hard for the development of our traditional art and culture.
Sarbananda Sonowal also added that art and culture play a main role in giving an identity to society and their development helps in taking a nation to greater heights.
Jatin Goswami is the third person after eminent scholar Maheswar Neog and music maestro Bhupen Hazarika to be conferred with the prestigious Akademi Ratna Award.
Born on August 2, 1933, to Dharanidhar Dev Goswami and Chandraprova Devi at Adhar Sattra near Dergaon in upper Assam’s Golaghat district, Goswami is the founder-director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati and a former member of the general council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
He was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2008, for his contributions to Sattriya dance.
Sonowal also felicitated mask artiste Hem Chandra Goswami who was honoured with the Akademi Puraskar recently by Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The programme was attended by eminent personalities like actor Jatin Bora, producer Pabitra Margherita among other dignitaries.