BHUBANESWAR: Six ordinary citizens of Odisha who have been working tirelessly in their fields of expertise and contributed to the growth of the society at large, were felicitated with the Padma Awards, the highest civilian honours of India on Tuesday. The awards were given away by the President Ram Nath Kovind at the Civil Investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
Veteran sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo received Padma Vibhushan - the second highest civilian honour - in the field of art. With seven decades of experience in stone and wood sculpting in traditional style, Sahoo has been promoting Indian classical sculpture all over the world. “I have earned many accolades for sculpting many temples and stupas but the joy of receiving the Padma honour cannot be matched. I once again thank the Centre and the State for recognising my craft,” said Sahoo who had got the Padma Shri in 1988.
Five others received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, on the day. They are Gandhian social worker Shanti Devi, Kui language poetess Purnamasi Jani, author-commentator on Jagannath Culture Rajat Kumar Kar, noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr Krishna Mohan Pathi and teacher Nanda Prusty, also known as ‘Nanda Mastre’.
Centenarian ‘Nanda Mastre’ who has been teaching both children and senior citizens in his village Kantira under Sukinda block of Jajpur free of cost to eradicate illiteracy, won applause when he raised his frail arms over the President’s head to bless him before and after receiving the prestigious award.
Shanti, who is currently engaged in teaching tribal girls free of cost at the educational complex at Limameda village near Gunupur in Rayagada, thanked the Central and State governments for bestowing upon her the prestigious award. “But my work does not end here. There is a lot more to do as far as education, health and land rights for tribals are concerned,” said the wheelchair-bound activist who got the civilian honour in the field of social work.
Dr Pathi, who got the award in the field of medicine, said it is very special to him. Known as the people’s doctor for serving the underprivileged, the octogenarian has been treating poor patients free of cost since the last three decades.All the six citizens received the Padma Awards for the year 2021.