BHUBANESWAR: The prestigious Padma awards will be conferred on six persons from Odisha this year. While sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo will receive the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, five others have been chosen for the Padma Shri honour.
The Padma Shri awardees this year are teacher Nanda Prusty, author-commentator Rajat Kumar Kar, social worker Shanti Devi, poet and singer Purnamasi Jani and doctor Krishna Mohan Pathi.
Sudarshan Sahoo, who had received the Padma Shri in 1988, will this time be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to the field of Art. An exponent of Shilpa Shastra, the ancient science of sculpture, Sahoo has founded the Sudarshan Crafts Museum at Puri as well as the Sudarshan Arts and Crafts Village in Bhubaneswar. Many of his students have gone ahead to bag National and State awards.
"I am humbled at the honour bestowed upon me. The art and crafts village, I have set up since the time of Biju Babu needs support from the government to train and mould more number of sculptors for future. The award will give a fillip to the mission," he said.
Belonging to Kantira village in Jajpur district, 98-year-old Nanda Prusty, also popularly called Nanda Master, will be honoured with Padma Shri. He has been on a mission to eradicate illiteracy. Even at this age, he continues teaching both children and adults of Kantira and nearby villages in a makeshift shed free of cost. Eminent author, playwright and commentator, Rajat Kumar Kar holds the record of being the longest and oldest active commentator of the Puri Rath Yatra in both TV and radio for the last 62 years.
The 86-year-old former director of education, has been actively involved in promoting Odia culture. Rayagada-based social worker Shanti Devi has dedicated her life for the uplift of tribal women and children.
The 86-year-old had opened a voluntary organisation 'Seva Samaj' in 1965 through which, she currently runs three ophanages for girls in Gunupur and Rayagada; a hostel for tribal girls at Limameda; an educational complex for tribal girls at Jabarguda and eight child welfare centres in Rayagada and Gajapati districts.
"I am thankful to the government to have chosen me for this prestigious award. But, I feel the real award for any human is his or her work for the betterment of society. If one can bring about a positive change in the life of a less-fortunate person, there cannot be any bigger prize," she said.
Septuagenarian Purnamasi Jani has dedicated her life to spiritual and folk songs of Kandhamal. A tribal poet, Jani is popularly known as Tadisaru Bai in the region for her devotional songs and poems. In the last 40 years, Jani has written and sung thousands of devotional and folk songs.
Orthopedician Dr Krishna Mohan Pathi of Berhampur has been healing the poor and tribal people of Ganjam free of cost for the last three decades. After returning from UK where he worked at Radcliffe Infirmary Oxford, Liverpool and Birmingham, he set up a charitable organisation Bharadwaj Gurukul Ashram, through which he has been providing free healthcare service to tribals.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated all the six awardees. Taking to his Twitter handle, Pradhan said, "As an Odia it is a matter of great pride for me that 6 Odias have been conferred with the #PeoplesPadma for their notable contributions towards the welfare of the society. The extraordinary stories of these common citizens will truly inspire and make all of us proud."
He congratulated Sahoo on being honoured with Padma Vibhushan and five other Padma Shri awardees for the achievement.
Pradhan also thanked President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for continuing with the tradition of acknowledging and giving rich recognition to Odisha’s talents by honouring them with the highest civilian awards.