People's Padma: From MP Folk Dancer to Manipuri Applique Art Ace – Honouring India's Real Heroes

Moving forward with the idea of “People’s Padma”, President Ram Nath Kovind not only conferred the Padma awards on well-known public personalities but unknown faces working relentlessly for the betterment of society. Both the investiture ceremonies this year featured distinguished personalities known for their innovation at the grassroots level, from a preserver of tribal art forms to an applique artist and a language conservator to an agriculturist.

President Ram Nath Kovind shared many such names on his Twitter, lauding them for their outstanding contribution in different fields.

Here are some real-life heroes who received the Padma awards this year:

Abdulkhader Imamsab Nadakattin, Grassroots Innovation

The chairperson of Vishwashanthi Agriculture Research Centre in Annigeri, Nadakattin received the Padma Shri for developing a number of user-friendly agriculture innovations. He has been credited with over 40 innovations that assist small and marginal farmers across India. On receiving the award, he said, “I am a common farmer but the Indian government has honoured me with the Padma Shri award for the research I have done on the machines used in agriculture in the last 35 years. I want to dedicate this to all the farmers in the country.”

Lourembam Bino Devi, Art

Lourembam received the Padma Shri for being the oldest expert in the traditional method of applique art called ‘leeba’ in Manipur and has rendered her services in the revival of this cultural asset for the last 53 years.

Arjun Singh Dhurwey, Art

President Kovind presented Padma Shri to Dhurwey, who is a folk dancer and retired teacher from Dindori in Madhya Pradesh. He is know for popularising folk songs and dance of the Baiga tribe, an ethnic group found in Mandla and Balaghat districts of the state.

Gurukkal Sankara Narayana Menon, sports

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was not the only one to be honoured in this category. An established kalaripayattu guru in Kerala, Menon received the Padma Shri. He has mastered a high level of proficiency as a practitioner, performer and teacher with over 60 years of experience in this field.

Prabhaben Sobhaghchand Shah, Social Work

Shah received the Padma Shri. She is the founder of the Darnaa District Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd and is known for her efforts towards women empowerment.

Kongampattu AV Murugaiyan, Art

A thavil vidwan, Murugaiyan received the Padma Shri. He has been working as a thavil teacher in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, and has trained more than 300 students in his 23 years of service. The thavil is a traditional barrel-shaped percussion instrument.

Lalita Vakil, Art

Vakil, a Chamba rumaal embroiderer, received the Padma Shri. Her main objective is to preserve, practice and impart the training of this cultural dying form.

Sakini Ramachandraih, Art

Ramachandraih received the Padma Shri. He is a vocal folk singer and dhol player well-known for kanchu melam-kanchuthalam, a tribal art form belonging to the Koya people in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Tsering Namgyal, Art

Namgyal, who received the Padma Shri, is a woodcraft artist belonging to a family in Ladakh that has practised this art for successive generations. He has been preserving and promoting this art over the past four decades.

The Padma awards were given to 128 personalities this year, of which 54 received their awards at the first civil investiture ceremony on March 21. The likes of late BJP leader Kalyan Singh, actor Victor Banerjee and Covaxin makers Krishna Murthy and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech were also among recipients of the Padma awards at the second ceremony.

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