A 100-year-old freedom fighter from Goa, a Dhak player from West Bengal who trained 150 women in the male-dominated field, and India’s first woman puppeteer, who is 96. They are among 30 unsung heroes from diverse fields who were awarded the Padma Shri on Saturday.
Libia Lobo Sardesai, who played an important role in Goa’s freedom movement, co-founded an underground radio station — ‘Voz da Liberdabe (Voice of Freedom)’ — in a forested area in 1955 to rally people against the Portuguese rule.
She has been awarded the Padma Shri by the President on the occasion of the 76th Republic Day.
Also among the awardees is Gokul Chandra Dey, a 57-year old Dhak player from West Bengal, who broke the gender stereotype by training 150 women in the male-dominated field, according to a government statement.
File picture of women playing traditional drums ahead of the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata
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Dey also created a lightweight Dhak type, weighing 1.5 kg less than the conventional instrument, and represented India at various international platforms and performed with Maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain.
A vocal advocate of woman empowerment, 82-year old Sally Holkar transformed the once dying Maheshwari craft and founded a handloom school in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, to give training in traditional weaving techniques.
Born in America and inspired by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar’s legacy, she devoted five decades of her life to revitalise the 300-year-old weaving legacy. She has also been awarded the Padma Shri.
Wildlife researcher and Marathi author Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli (92), who gave unique dictionaries on birds, animals and trees; 68-year-old bhajan singer Batool Begum from Jaipur who is the only Rajasthani female to have performed at the Town Hall of Paris; percussionist Velu Aasaan (58) from Tamil Nadu, who is standardising and reviving the traditional Parai Isai art form are also among the awardees.
Togalu Gombeyaata (leather puppetry) master puppeteer Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara, who was one of the first women to practise the art form, has also been awarded the Padma Shri. The 96-year-old ‘Grandmother of Gombeyaata’ mastered the art at just 14, and has performed in more than 12 countries.
Lavjibhai Nagjibhai (64), a Tangaliya weaver from the Dangasia community in Surendranagar Parmar; Vijayalakshmi Deshamane, veteran oncologist from Kalaburgi who provides free treatment to poor cancer patients; and Chaitram Devchand Pawar, who conserved 400 hectares of forest in Maharashtra, are also among the unsung heroes who have been given the coveted award.
Pandi Ram Mandavi, a traditional tribal musician and the creator of bamboo wind whistle called ‘Sulur’ or ‘Bastar flute’, is also among the awardees.
Radha Bahin Bhatt, 91-year-old social activist from Uttarakhand, who works for the education of the girl child, environment protection and who actively participated in the famous ‘chipko andolan’, social worker from Gujarat Suresh Soni, who is working for leprosy patients and the specially abled, have also been honoured with the award.
Tribal musician Joynacharan Bathari from Assam, who has dedicated 60 years of his life for the preservation and propagation of Dimasa folk music, yoga practitioner from Kuwait Shaikha AJ Al Sabah, Nepali folk singer Gangtok Naren Gurung and former head of Gynaecology Department of AIIMS Delhi, Neerja Bhatla, who played a key role in creating guidelines for cervical cancer, have also been given Padma Shri in the unsung heroes category.