Published: 11:45 PM, 09 August 2026
SM Sultan's 103rd birth anniversary today
The 103rd birth anniversary of world-renowned artist SM Sultan will be observed in Narail today in a befitting manner.
In observance of the anniversary, SM Sultan Foundation and Narail district administration have chalked out a daylong programme at Sultan Smriti Sangrahasala.
The programme includes Qurankhwani at Sultan's graveyard at 6 am, tributes and prayer mahfil will be offered at the artist's shrine at 9 am, a painting competition and exhibition for children and teenagers will be inaugurated at 9:30 am, an art camp will be held at 10 am, a discussion programme and award ceremony, prize distribution and cultural programs will be held on the occasion, BSS reports.
Cultural Affairs Minister Advocate Nitai Roy Chowdhury will be present as the chief guest at the event. SM Sultan Smriti Sangrahasala president and Deputy Commissioner Dr. Mohammad Abdul Salam will preside over the function.
At the same time, Narail-1 MP Biswas Jahangir Alam, Narail-2 MP Ataur Rahman Bachchu and Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs Kaniz Maula will be present as special guests. Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Director General Rezauddin Stalin will be present as the guest of honour.
Professor Reza Asad Al Huda Anupam, Department of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, will be present as the main discussant at the discussion titled 'S.M. Sultan: An Artist Close to Life and Social Reality'. Abdul Halim Chanchal, Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, will deliver the welcome speech.
This year, Dr. Md. Abdus Sattar will receive the 'Sultan Award-2026'.
Sultan hit the art world long before he was known as a painter to the people of his homeland. Leading a very simple life far away from the madding crowd in his village, the selfless painter spent most of his life painting and art brush. His very simple but highly philosophic art, which revealed in nature and the people of Bangladesh, has become the prime source of inspiration for the new generation of painters.
His artworks were shown in Simla, India, in 1946, in Lahore and Karachi in 1948-49 and paintings were exhibited in New York, Boston, London and the University in 1959, long before the exhibition at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1976.
He attended the International Conference of Painters in America in 1950 as the representative of the then-Pakistan government.
SM Sultan, a legendary artist of Bangladesh, won the Ekushey Padak in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and the Swadhinata Padak in 1993.
He was titled the "Man of Asia" in 1982 by Cambridge University and the Bangladesh government named him "a resident artist" in 1984.
Sultan was born in the Masumdia area in Narail town on August 10, 1924.
He died at Jashore Combined Military Hospital on October 10, 1994. He was buried in the yard of his own house in the Masumdia-Kurigram area of Narail Municipality.
