TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday conferred coveted Padma awards to 44 persons which included celebrities and unsung heroes who have worked for the society. In a formal ceremony in the imposing Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Mukherjee conferred Padma Vibhushan to mystic guru Sahdguru Jagadish Vasudev and singer K J Yesudas.
Wife of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Sunder Lal Patwa received the award on his behalf. Among 44 persons who were awarded with Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, 40 were present to receive the honour while in three cases, where awards were given posthumously, relatives received it. One recipient of Padma Shri was also not present in the ceremony.
Inventor of musical instrument ‘Mohan Veena’, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt; Professor of modern languages and Acharya of Kashi Vishvanath Temple, Devi Prasad Dwivedi; Jain monk, Jainacharya Ratnasundersuri Maharaja were conferred Padma Bhushan by the President in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Cabinet ministers and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Journalist Cho S Ramaswamy was also honoured with Padma Bhushan posthumously and his wife received it. The President awarded Padma Shri to celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, singer Kailash Kher, Bollywood chronicler Bhawana Somaaya, former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, Olympians Dipa Karmakar, Sakshi Malik and Vikas Shive Gowda, Paralympic Gold medalist Mariyappan T and others for their excellence. Kher told that he was honoured to receive the award.
“India has a great tradition of music and intellect. It attracted attackers from abroad because of its wealth and intellect,” he said. Other Padma awardees included archaeologist Asoke Kumar Bhattacharyya (posthumously), writer of children literature Eli Ahmed, Shehnai maestro Krishna Ram Choudhary, Telecom expert Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary, social worker Dattatrey Narayan and journalist Balbir Dutt The President also conferred Padma Shri to painter Tilak Gitai, scientist Jitendra Nath Goswami who was part of Chandrayaan mission, actor Sadhu Meher, transplant surgeon Mukut Minz, Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty, Birkha Bahadur Subba Muringla who developed Limboo language into modern form and mridangam artist T K Murthy.
Expert on Iranian and Central Asian studies Kashinath Pandit, Carnatic vocalist Parassala B Ponnammal, sculptor Aekka Yadagiri Rao, Technology professor Ajoy Kumar Raym, the US based media magnet Hasmukh Shah, Sanskrit expert Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Unani expert Mohammed Abdul Waheed and noted surgeon Dr Devendra Patel also received the honour. Kannada lexicographer G Venkatasubbiah, who was awarded Padma Shri, was not present in the ceremony.
