Gond Artist, Manipur Doll Crafter, Santal Author: Padma Glory for Grassroots Heroes Once Again

Among prominent public personalities like Gen Bipin Rawat, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, there are some unknown faces on the list of 128 Padma awardees who have touched lives at the grassroots. Echoing the idea of “People’s Padma” coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year during a ‘Mann ki Baat’ address, many real-life heroes were recognised by the central government and conferred the Padma awards on Monday.

President Ram Nath Kovind shared many such names on his Twitter, lauding them for their outstanding contribution in fields ranging from tribal art and folk music to traditional crafts and literature.

Here are some unsung heroes who received the Padma awards this year:

Durga Bai Vyam, Art

Durga Bai Vyam received the Padma Shri for art. She is a Pardhan Gond artist hailing from Madhya Pradesh. She has worked hard to regenerate the tribal art form. Her paintings are mostly drawn from the folklore and stories of her tribe and their myths.

Konsam Ibomcha Singh, Art

Ibomcha Singh from Manipur received the Padma Shri for art. He is an expert in the craft of making dolls and toys, which is a traditional craft of the state. He has been a participant in various national exhibitions and is also a recipient of the Manipur state award for his contribution to handicrafts.

Kali Pada Saren, literature and education

Saren received the Padma Shri for literature and education. He has played a pioneering role in removing illiteracy and prejudices from the Santal community, an ethnic group. A writer, singer and dramatist, he is known as Kherwal Saren in his community.

Kaajee Singh ‘Vidyaarthee’, Art

The first Gorkha-Nepali to received the Padma Shri, Kaajee Singh is the founder chairman of Samskriti Samrakshan Samsthaan in Kalimpong, West Bengal, which promotes folk cultural music and has pioneered the growth of an instrument called ‘sri maadal’.

Prof Badaplin War, Literature and Education

War received the Padma Shri for literature and education. She is a professor in the department of Khasi, North-Eastern Hill University. She is an expert on Khasi linguistics, literature, culture and translation.

Ajita Srivastava, Art

A well-known folk singer of Uttar Pradesh from Mirzapur, Srivastava received the Padma Shri. She is widely recognised to preserve, conserve and propagate the popular folklore of ‘kajli’.

Swami Sivananda, Yoga

Swami Sivananda was honoured with the Padma Shri for yoga. He has dedicated his life to human welfare and has served leprosy-affected people at Puri for the past 50 years. Likely the ‘oldest man alive’, he is said to have been born in 1896 and is healthy. His long life has drawn the attention of national and international organisations.

Sethpal Singh, Agriculture

Sethpal Singh is a farmer from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and has demonstrated diversification in the agriculture sector for sustainable income for smallholder farmers. He received the Padma Shri.

Ram Sahay Pandey, Art

Pandey received the Padma Shri for art. He is a folk artist from Bundelkhand region, one of the most backward areas of the country, and has represented India around the world. He is the founder of Bundeli Lok Nritya Natya Kala Parishad.

Darshanam Mogulaiah, Art

Mogulaiah received the Padma Shri for art. He is an artist who sings folk and heroic songs by playing ‘kinnera;, a 500-year-old instrument made of bamboo.

Narasingha Prasad Guru, literature and education

The Padma Shri awardee is a renowned littérateur of Koshali language in Odisha and has compiled a dictionary called ‘Koshali-Odia Abhidhan’ consisting of 17,000 Koshali words.

Om Prakash “Gandhi”, Social Work

The moniker behind his name rings true as Padma Shri Om Prakash is the founder of Gurjar Kanya Gurukul Institute and has contributed immensely in the field of girls’ education in Devdhar village of Haryana. Haryana has one of the worst sex ratios in India.

Prominent awardees include Padma Vibhushan recipients Gen Rawat (posthumous) and late chairperson of Gita Press Radhey Shyam, Padma Bhushan awardees Azad, Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa (posthumous), Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekharan, former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi, Covishield’s maker Poonawalla among others. The awards are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The list of awardees comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards. Thirty-four awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 posthumous awardees.

(With PTI inputs)

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