Kolkata, April 2023: The Fourth Edition of The Pride of Bengal 2023 which was hosted by ICC Young Leaders Forum was a fantastic event that celebrated the outstanding contribution of individuals in various fields and the fact that luminaries and dignitaries from diverse backgrounds attended the event was itself a testament to the importance of this event. The event was held on 21st April, 2023 at JW Marriott, Kolkata.
It’s encouraging to see that the awards emphasize the awardees’ accomplishments while also recognising their hard work and perseverance. It’s also interesting to note that this event has been taking place since 2018 and has gained considerable attention over the years, becoming one of the prestigious events in Kolkata.
The award event was honoured by 18 devoted people who has made outstanding contributions in their various fields like cinema, music, visual arts, lifestyle, academia, sports, politics and so much more. Jeet Ganguly, Mimi Chakraborty, Parambrata Chatterjee, Sourav Ghoshal, Peter Cook, Ashok Dinda, Prahlad Rai Agrawala, B M Mittal, Rohit Roy, Tridha Chaudhury, Vice Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee, Rupa Ganguly, Dolly Jain, Dibakar Banerjee, Nitai Chandra Ghosh, Abhishek Poddar and Abhishek Banerjee were some of the personalities who received the award. Ritu Kumar was also present virtually.
The Young Leaders Forum was established in 2017. Currently chaired by Arihant Parakh, Chairperson, the Forum’s objectives are to mobilize challenges, ideas, concepts, and skills of the younger generation and help members learn from best resources, and provide social and business networking opportunities and enable members to grow all the more professionally.
The pioneers from Bengal were honored and felicitated with the Pride of Bengal award to commemorate their immense contribution in their respective field of work.
Commencing the awards ceremony, Arihant Parakh, Chairperson of the Young Leaders Forum, said, “I’m honored to welcome you today at the event of Pride of Bengal 2023. Tonight we will honor the remarkable achievers , extraordinary and talented individuals who have broken major grounds in their respective fields not esteemed to West Bengal only but to our nation as a whole. It is a privilege for me to be under the same roof with such an accomplished and inspired audience and it’s my pleasure to host all of you as a Chairman of Young Leaders Forum . YLF is a dynamic and exciting forum for Young Leaders and Achievers of Kolkata. The forum truly believes in bringing about a change beyond conventionality. The forum is playing a primitive role in the amalgamation of Kolkata and the State of West Bengal. It is no secret that the moralities of hard work , dedication and focus , perseverance, constitute the formula for achieving one’s preaching and becoming successful in any field of life and to stick to it through good times and bad, through happiness and despair and through success and failure. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of you. You truly are the Pride of Bengal “.
In the words of Mr. Abhishek Banerjee while being honored with the award for Celebrated Actor Bollywood – actor, “It’s a great feeling to receive this award. For me it’s really a very proud moment. Being a Bengal and here I’m standing and speaking in Bengali while standing on the stage gives me immense pleasure. Thank you for having me tonight.”
In the words of Mr. Dibakar Banerjee while being honored with the award for Visionary Film Director “ It’s a privilege to be here in between all of you today. I’m a Bengali too and Bengal is a land of cultures. It’s a proud moment for me to be here today”.
In the words of Mrs. Dolly Jain while being honored with the award for Creative Genius “I think I’ve started saree draping when I actually saw everybody not wearing sarees. They literally stopped wearing sarees. I took saree draping as a challenge and I wanted to spread this Indian art of draping globally”.
In the words of Mr.Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee while being honored with the award for Defense Services- I’m really excited to be here and honored. This is so very expressive. This is utmost special and nurturing young leadership which is today the need of the hour to get Bengal to regain its past community.
The after-party with DJ Omen playing some groovy tunes was like a perfect way to end the night on a high note. Overall, it seemed like a night to remember, where potential and success was the center of attention.
