NEW DELHI: They have many achievements to their credit and have worked tirelessly for decades to make a mark in their respective fields or serve the people, but national recognition in the form of Padma awards has come to them only now.
On the Padma Shri list this year is Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat, Balti poet from Kargil, working for preservation and promotion of Balti language and culture; Himmatrao Bawaskar who is globally acclaimed for his research on scorpion and snake bites; Wangchuk Bhutia, a Tangkha painter from Sikkim Khandu; and Acharya Chandanaji, a Jain spiritual leader and social worker from Rajgir who has dedicated her life to the empowerment of the poor for the past five decades.
Veteran Gandhian and political leader from Mehsana in Gujarat, Malji Bhai Desai, was honoured with Padma Shri this year for promoting khadi through his five decades in public service. A 102-year old Gandhian social worker from Kamrup in Assam, Shakuntala Choudhary; a social worker who has dedicated his life to sanitation in south Indian villages, S Damodaran; social worker from Mohali working with leprosy patients, Prem Singh; social worker Om Prakash Gandhi who has been working for cause of the girl child in Haryana; and divyang social worker from Malappuram K V Rabiya who has worked with divyangs and women, overcoming numerous personal tragedies and illnesses; are the other unsung heroes who will be decorated with the country’s fourth highest civilian honour.
The other awardees include veteran Kalaripayattu guru from Thrissur Sankaranarayana Menon Chundayil; Kuchipudi dancer Padmaja Reddy; Shehnai maestro from Chennai, S Ballesh Bhajantri; legendary Lavani singer from Kolkhapur Sulochana Chavan; applique textile artist from Manipur Lourembam Bino Devi who has been preserving Leeba textile art for 5 decades; renowned Odia singer Shyamamani Devi; Biaga tribal dancer and singer from Dindori, Madhya Pradesh Arjun Singh Dhurve; Nadaswaram player Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan; Gamaka singer from Shivamogga HR Keshavamurthy; Gond painter from Mandla Durga Bai Vyam; Kajari folk singer from Mirzapur Ajita Srivastava; and a traditional Laiphadibi doll-maker from Imphal Konsam Ibomcha Singh.
Kashmiri martial arts coach from Bandipore Faisal Ali Dar who has been inspiring youths in terrorism-hit districts of rural Kashmir is another interesting name in the Padma Shri List.
Those honoured also include water conservationist working in drought-prone Maharashtra Savaji Bhai Dholakia; and woman environmentalist from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand who has contributed to revitalising the Kosi River.
Some spiritual names in the Padma list include Buddhist leader and former abbot of Tawang Monastery Guru Tulku Rinpoche; 125-year-old living embodiment of yoga, dhyan and sewa from Kashi (Varanasi) Sivananda; spiritual leader from Goa and Peethadishwar of the Shree Datta Padmanabh Peeth Sadguru Brahmeshanand Acharya Swami.
The Padma Shri conferred on medical professionals include Narendra Prasad Mishra who developed treatment protocols for victims of Bhopal gas tragedy (posthumous); veteran Ayurveda practitioner from Pune, Balaji Tambe; veteran orthopaedic surgeon from Visakhapatnam, Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao; ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of pregnancy diabetes Veeraswamy Seshiah; veteran neurologist known for his work on multiple scelorisis and Parkinson’s disease Bhimsen Singhal; and veteran nephrologist from UP, Kamlakar Tripathi.
On the Padma Shri list this year is Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat, Balti poet from Kargil, working for preservation and promotion of Balti language and culture; Himmatrao Bawaskar who is globally acclaimed for his research on scorpion and snake bites; Wangchuk Bhutia, a Tangkha painter from Sikkim Khandu; and Acharya Chandanaji, a Jain spiritual leader and social worker from Rajgir who has dedicated her life to the empowerment of the poor for the past five decades.
Veteran Gandhian and political leader from Mehsana in Gujarat, Malji Bhai Desai, was honoured with Padma Shri this year for promoting khadi through his five decades in public service. A 102-year old Gandhian social worker from Kamrup in Assam, Shakuntala Choudhary; a social worker who has dedicated his life to sanitation in south Indian villages, S Damodaran; social worker from Mohali working with leprosy patients, Prem Singh; social worker Om Prakash Gandhi who has been working for cause of the girl child in Haryana; and divyang social worker from Malappuram K V Rabiya who has worked with divyangs and women, overcoming numerous personal tragedies and illnesses; are the other unsung heroes who will be decorated with the country’s fourth highest civilian honour.
The other awardees include veteran Kalaripayattu guru from Thrissur Sankaranarayana Menon Chundayil; Kuchipudi dancer Padmaja Reddy; Shehnai maestro from Chennai, S Ballesh Bhajantri; legendary Lavani singer from Kolkhapur Sulochana Chavan; applique textile artist from Manipur Lourembam Bino Devi who has been preserving Leeba textile art for 5 decades; renowned Odia singer Shyamamani Devi; Biaga tribal dancer and singer from Dindori, Madhya Pradesh Arjun Singh Dhurve; Nadaswaram player Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan; Gamaka singer from Shivamogga HR Keshavamurthy; Gond painter from Mandla Durga Bai Vyam; Kajari folk singer from Mirzapur Ajita Srivastava; and a traditional Laiphadibi doll-maker from Imphal Konsam Ibomcha Singh.
Kashmiri martial arts coach from Bandipore Faisal Ali Dar who has been inspiring youths in terrorism-hit districts of rural Kashmir is another interesting name in the Padma Shri List.
Those honoured also include water conservationist working in drought-prone Maharashtra Savaji Bhai Dholakia; and woman environmentalist from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand who has contributed to revitalising the Kosi River.
Some spiritual names in the Padma list include Buddhist leader and former abbot of Tawang Monastery Guru Tulku Rinpoche; 125-year-old living embodiment of yoga, dhyan and sewa from Kashi (Varanasi) Sivananda; spiritual leader from Goa and Peethadishwar of the Shree Datta Padmanabh Peeth Sadguru Brahmeshanand Acharya Swami.
The Padma Shri conferred on medical professionals include Narendra Prasad Mishra who developed treatment protocols for victims of Bhopal gas tragedy (posthumous); veteran Ayurveda practitioner from Pune, Balaji Tambe; veteran orthopaedic surgeon from Visakhapatnam, Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao; ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of pregnancy diabetes Veeraswamy Seshiah; veteran neurologist known for his work on multiple scelorisis and Parkinson’s disease Bhimsen Singhal; and veteran nephrologist from UP, Kamlakar Tripathi.
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