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 people, but national recognition in the form of Padma Awards have come to them now.
On the list of Padma Shri this year is Akhone Asgar Ali Basharat, Balti Poet of Kargil, working for the preservation and promotion of Language and Culture Balti; Himmatrao Bawaskar globally recognized for his research on scorpion and snake bites; Wangchuk Bhutia, a painter from Sikkim Khandu Tangkha; And Acharya Chandanaji, a Jain spiritual leader and social worker from Rajgir who has dedicated his life to the empowerment of the poor during the last five decades.
Veteran Gandhian leader and Politics from Mehsana in Gujarat, Malji Bhai Desai, was honored with the Padma Shri this year to promote Khadi through five decades in public service.
A social worker from the 102-year-old Gandhian Kamrup in Assam, Shakuntala Choudhary; A social worker who has dedicated his life to sanitation in the villages of South India, S Damodaran; social workers from Mohali to work with leprosy patients, Prem Singh; Social Worker Om Prakash Gandhi who has worked for the cause of girls in Haryana; and social workers Divyang of Malappuram K v Rabiya who has worked with Divyang and women, overcome personal tragedies and illnesses; are other unsung heroes who will be decorated with the fourth highest civilian honor of the country.
Other recipients include Kalaripayattu Veteran Teacher of Thrissur Sankaranarayana Chundayil Menon; Kuchipudi Dancer Padmaja Reddy; Shehnai maestro from Chennai, S Ballesh Bhajantri; Lavani legendary singer of Kolkhapur Sulochana Chavan; Applique Textile artist Bino Devi of Manipur Lourembam who have preserved Leeba textile arts for five decades; Odia famous singer Shyamamani Devi; Biaga Tribal Dancer and Singer from Dindori, Madhya Pradesh Arjun Singh Dhurve; Nadaswaram Player Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan; Singer Gamaka of Shivamogga H R Keshavamurthy; Gond painter of Mandla Durga Bai Vyam; Folk singer Kajari of Mirzapur Ajita Srivastava; And a traditional laiphadibi doll maker from Imphal Konsam Ibomcha Singh.
Martial arts trainer Kashmir from Bandipore Faisal Ali Dar, which have inspired the youth in the rural district of terrorism in Kashmir are other interesting names on the list of Padma Shri.
Those honored also include water conservation works in drought-prone Maharashtra Savaji Bhai Dholakia; environmentalists and women of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand which has contributed to revitalize the Kosi River.
Some of the names in the list of Padma covering spiritual Buddhist leader and former abbot of Tawang monastery Guru Tulku Rinpoche; Embodiment Yoga, Dhyan, and a 125-year-old lease of Kashi (Varanasi) Sivananda; Spiritual leader of Goa and Peethadishwar of Shree Sadguru Datta Peeth Brahmeshanand Padmanabh Acharya Swami.
Padma Shri conferred on medical professionals including Narendra Prasad Mishra who develop treatment protocols for victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy (posthumously); Ayurveda practitioners veteran of Pune, Balaji Tambe; Orthopedic surgeons veteran of Visakhapatnam, Sunkara Adinarayana Venkata Rao; ‘Bhishma Pituamah’ of gestational diabetes Veeraswamy seaah; Neuroscientists veteran known for his work on a lot of scouting and Bhimsen Singhal Parkinson’s disease; and a veteran of the top nephrology experts, Kamlakar Tripathi.