Miri (Top) & Tanvir

Guwahati, Sept. 13: Late educationist Indira Miri and theatre personality Habib Tanvir have been selected for the prestigious Srimanta Sankardev award for 2002 and 2003 respectively.

An eight-member selection committee finalised the names after going through a long list of nominations received from all over the country. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi is the chairperson of the selection panel.

?The two names have been forwarded to the state government for cabinet approval,? director of cultural affairs, Preetom Saikia, said.

The awards will be conferred at a ceremony to be held here either in November or December. No date has been fixed as yet as efforts are on to invite either President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam or vice-president Bhairon Singh Sekhawat or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the award ceremony.

?Conventionally, the award is conferred by some VVIP. The government is trying to fix a date with one of the VVIPs,? Saikia said.

The award was instituted in 1986 and carries a reward of Rs 3 lakh, a citation and a gold medal.

The award will be conferred posthumously on Miri for her contribution in the fields of education and social work. Born here in 1910, she did pioneering work in setting up institutions like Jorhat BT College.

Tanvir, 79, will be conferred the award for his contribution to contemporary Indian theatre, particularly folk theatre.

Tanvir and his wife, Moneeka Misra, had founded a theatre company, Naya Theatre, in 1959. From Agra Bazar, which was staged in the early years, he has staged classics like Gaon Ka Naam Sasural, Charandas Chor, Mitti Ki Gaadi, Ghasi Ram Kotwal and Chakravyuh.

Among its previous recipients are Satyajit Ray, Amjad Ali Khan, Kelucharan Mahapatra, Bhabendranath Saikia, Sonaram Chutia and Illaram Das.

The award was last conferred on March 2, 2001.