NEW DELHI: Eleven Malayalis have been chosen for the Padma awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, on the eve of the 61st Republic Day.
Percussion maestro Kuzhur Narayana Marar, ayurveda physicians P K Warrier and E T Narayanan Mooss and industrialist C P Krishnan Nair have won the Padma Bhushan awards. The Padma Shri awardees from the state are music director K Raghavan, Oscarwinning sound engineer Resul Pookutty, gastroenterologist and Lakeshore Hospital MD Philip Augustine, biologist and director general of Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development, Thiruvananthapuram, Palpu Pushpangadan, Pucadyil Ittoop John, a physicist with the Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, and industrialists Kurian John Melamparambil and Dr B Raveendran Pillai.
Kuzhur Narayana Marar has been acknowledged for his efforts to popularise panchavadyam, apart from his innovations on ‘thimila’, a percussion instrument. Born at Kuzhur, a remote hamlet in Thrissur district, his devotion to the art form has been instrumental in making thimila a very important component of the traditional Kerala percussion ensemble.
Born in the family of Thaikkattu Mooss of Ollur, Thrissur, Ashtavaidyan E T Narayanan Mooss heads the Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala.
It was under his leadership that the Oushadhasala grew on to become one of the largest manufacturers of ayurvedic medicines, with an extensive network across the country.
A name closely associated with a string of exemplary ayurveda practitioners and physicians in Kerala, P K Warrier currently spearheads the activities of the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala in Malappuram, where he is the chief physician. Captain C P Krishnan Nair, who became an industrialist after giving up a promising career in the Army, was behind the phenomenal growth of the Leela group that has an impressive chain of deluxe hotels at many key locations in the country.
During a career spanning over four decades, veteran music director K Raghavan has composed the scored for more than 60 Malayalam films and many of his works remain evergreen classics.
Born at Anchal, near Kollam, Resul Pookutty became one of the prominent figures in the art of sound engineering when he bagged the Oscar for his work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
Palpu Pushpangadan of Amity Institute is an internationally renowned biologist having multidisciplinary exposure and more than 39 years of experience. Kurian John Melamparampil and Gulf-based industrialist Raveendran Pillai have been picked for the Padma Shri in recognition of the initiatives in social work and contributions to trade and industry respectively.
