Kolkata, Oct. 3 -- In a city that wears its culture like a second skin, a packed gathering of Bengal's finest artists, writers and thinkers came together for an evening of warm, candid conversation-and a powerful tribute to a woman who turned social consciousness into a movement.

Addressing a session of Ek Mulakat in Kolkata, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, lauded the enduring contribution of Late Prabha Khaitan in awakening social awareness, and praised the multifarious socio-cultural work of the Prabha Khaitan Foundation - calling it "an important name" among organisations that quietly do what governments cannot.

Among those who attended the session were Padma Shri awardees dancer Mamata Shankar, Baul ...