Celebrations! Padma Awards - 2012

The President of India has approved the conferment of Padma Awards - 2012

This year the President has approved 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. These comprise 5 Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. There are 19 women among the awardees.

Padma Awards, the country's highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. 

The Awards are given in all disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. 'Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.The awards will conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan in March/April. 

Padma Vibhushan 

1. Shri K G Subramanyan - Art-Painting & Sculpture - West Bengal 2. Late Shri Mario De Miranda - Art-Cartoonist - Goa* 3. Late (Dr.) Bhupen Hazarika - Art- Vocal Music - Assam* 4. Dr. Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti - Medicine - Orthopedics - Maharashtra 5. Shri T V Rajeswar - Civil Service - Delhi 

Padma Bhushan 

1. Smt. Shabana Azmi - Art - Cinema - Maharashtra 2. Shri Khaled Choudhury - Art - Theatre - West Bengal 3. Shri Jatin Das - Art - Painting - Delhi 4. Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta - Art - Instrumental Music - Sarod - West Bengal 5. Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol alias Dharmendra - Art - Cinema - Maharashtra 6. Dr. Trippunithwra Viswanathan Gopalkrishnan - Art - Classical vocal and instrumental music - Tamil Nadu 7. Ms. Mira Nair - Art - Cinema - Delhi 8. Shri M.S. Gopalakrishnan - Art - Instrumental Music-Violin - Tamil Nadu 9. Shri Anish Kapoor - Art - Sculpture - UK* 10. Shri Satya Narayan Goenka - Social Work - Maharashtra 11. Dr. (Judge) Patibandla Chandrasekhar Rao - Public Affairs - Germany* 12. Shri George Yong-Boon Yeo - Public Affairs - Singapore* 13. Prof. Shashikumar Chitre - Science and Engineering - Maharashtra 14. Dr. M S Raghunathan - Science and Engineering - Maharashtra 15. Shri Subbiah Murugappa Vellayan - Trade and Industry - Tamil Nadu 16. Shri Balasubramanian Muthuraman - Trade and Industry - Maharashtra 17. Dr. Suresh H. Advani - Medicine - Oncology - Maharashtra 18. Dr. Noshir H Wadia - Medicine-Neurology - Maharashtra 19. Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty - Medicine-Cardiology - Karnataka 20. Prof. (Dr.) Shantaram Balwant Mujumdar - Literature and Education - Maharashtra 21. Prof. Vidya Dehejia - Literature and Education - USA* 22. Prof. Arvind Panagariya - Literature and Education - USA* 23. Dr. Jose Pereira - Literature and Education - USA* 24. Dr. Homi K. Bhabha - Literature and Education - UK * 25. Shri N Vittal - Civil Service - Kerala 26. Shri Mata Prasad - Civil Service - Uttar Pradesh 27. Shri Ronen Sen - Civil Service - West Bengal 

Padma Shri

1. Shri Vanraj Bhatia - Art - Music - Maharashtra 2. Shri Zia Fariduddin Dagar - Art - Music - vocal - Maharashtra 3. Smt. Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi - Art - Music- Khongjom Parba - Manipur 4. Shri Ramachandra Subraya Hegde Chittani - Art - Yakshagana dance drama - Karnataka 5. Shri Moti Lal Kemmu - Art - Playwright - Jammu and Kashmir 6. Shri Shahid Parvez Khan - Art - Instrumental Music-Sitar - Maharashtra 7. Shri Mohan Lal Kumhar - Art - Terracotta - Rajasthan 8. Shri Sakar Khan Manganiar - Art - Rajasthani Folk Music - Rajasthan 9. Smt. Joy Michael - Art - Theatre - Delhi 10. Dr. Minati Mishra - Art - Indian Classical Dance-Odissi. - Orissa 11. Shri Natesan Muthuswamy - Art - Theatre. - Tamil Nadu 12. Smt. R. Nagarathnamma - Art - Theatre - Karnataka 13. Shri Kalamandalm Sivan Nambootiri - Art - Indian Classical Dance- Kutiyattam - Kerala 14. Smt. Yamunabai Waikar - Art - Indian Folk Music-Lavani. - Maharashtra 15. Shri Satish Alekar - Art - Playwright - Maharashtra 16. Pandit Gopal Prasad Dubey - Art - Chhau dance and choreography - Jharkhand 17. Shri Ramakant Gundecha and Shri Umakant Gundecha - Art - Indian Classical Music- Vocal - Madhya Pradesh 18. Shri Anup Jalota - Art-Indian Classical Music- Vocal - Maharashtra 19. Shri Soman Nair Priyadarsan - Art - Cinema- Direction - Kerala 20. Shri Sunil Janah - Art-Photography - Assam 21. Ms. Laila Tyebji - Art-Handicrafts - Delhi 22. Shri Vijay Sharma - Art-Painting - Himachal Pradesh 23. Smt. Shamshad Begum - Social Work - Chattisgarh 24. Smt. Reeta Devi - Social Work - Delhi 25. Dr. P.K. Gopal - Social Work - Tamil Nadu 26. Smt. Phoolbasan Bai Yadav - Social Work - Chattisgarh 27. Dr. G. Muniratnam - Social Work - Andhra Pradesh 28. Shri Niranjan Pranshankar Pandya - Social Work - Maharashtra 29. Dr. Uma Tuli - Social Work - Delhi 30. Shri Sat Paul Varma - Social Work - Jammu and Kashmir 31. Smt.Binny Yanga - Social Work - Arunachal Pradesh 32. Shri Yezdi Hirji Malegam - Public Affairs - Maharashtra 33. Shri Pravin H. Parekh - Pubic Affairs - Delhi 34. Dr. V. Adimurthy - Science and Engineering - Kerala 35. Dr. Krishna Lal Chadha - Science and Engineering - Agriculture - Delhi 36. Prof. Virander Singh Chauhan - Science and Engineering - Delhi 37. Prof. Rameshwar Nath Koul Bamezai - Science and Engineering - Jammu and Kashmir 38. Dr. Vijaypal Singh - Science and Engineering - Agricultural Research - Uttar Pradesh 39. Dr. Lokesh Kumar Singhal - Science and Engineering - Punjab 40. Dr. Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan - Science and Engineering - Karnataka 41. Prof. Jagadish Shukla - Science and Engineering - USA*  42. Ms. Priya Paul - Trade and Industry - Delhi43. Shri Shoji Shiba - Trade and Industry - Japan* 44. Shri Gopinath Pillai - Trade and Industry - Singapore* 45. Shri Arun Hastimal Firodia - Trade and Industry - Maharashtra 46. Dr. Swati A. Piramal - Trade and Industry - Maharashtra 47. Prof. Mahdi Hasan - Medicine-Anatomy - Uttar Pradesh  48. Dr. Viswanathan Mohan - Medicine - Diabetology - Tamil Nadu49. Dr. J. Hareendran Nair - Medicine - Ayurveda - Kerala 50. Dr. Vallalarpuram Sennimalai Natarajan - Medicine - Geriatrics - Tamil Nadu 51. Dr. Jitendra Kumar Singh - Medicine - Oncology - Bihar 52. Dr. Shrinivas S. Vaishya - Medicine-Healthcare - Daman and Diu 53. Dr. Nitya Anand - Medicine - Drugs Research - Uttar Pradesh 54. Late Dr. Jugal Kishore - Medicine - Homoeopathy - Delhi * 55. Dr. Mukesh Batra - Medicine-Homeopathy - Maharashtra 56. Dr. Eberhard Fischer - Literature and Education - Switzerland* 57. Shri Kedar Gurung - Literature and Education - Sikkim 58. Shri Surjit Singh Patar - Literature and Education - Poetry - Punjab 59. Shri Vijay Dutt Shridhar - Literature and Education - Journalism - Madhya Pradesh 60. Shri Irwin Allan Sealy - Literature and Education - Uttarakhand 61. Ms. Geeta Dharmarajan - Literature and Education - Delhi 62. Prof. Sachchidanand Sahai - Literature and Education - Haryana 63. Smt. Pepita Seth - Literature and Education - Kerala 64. Dr. Ralte L. Thanmawia - Literature and Education - Mizoram 65. Shri Ajeet Bajaj - Sports - Skiing - Delhi 66. Smt. Jhulan Goswami - Sports - Women's Cricket - West Bengal 67. Shri Zafar Iqbal - Sports-Hockey - Uttar Pradesh 68. Shri Devendra Jhajrija - Sports - Athletics- Paralympics - Rajasthan 69. Shri Limba Ram - Sports - Archery - Rajasthan 70. Shri Syed Mohammed Arif - Sports - Badminton - Andhra Pradesh 71. Prof. Ravi Chaturvedi - Sports- Commentary - Delhi 72. Shri Prabhakar Vaidya - Sports-Physical Education - Maharashtra 73. Shri T. Venkatapathi Reddiar - Others-Horticulture - Puducherry 74. Dr. K. (Kota) Ullas Karanth - Others-Wildlife Conservation and Environment Protection - Karnataka 75. Shri K Paddayya - Others-Archaeology - Maharashtra 76. Shri Swapan Guha - Others-Ceramics - Rajasthan 77. Dr. Kartikeya V. Sarabhai - Others - Environmental Education - Gujarat 

* indicates awardees in the category of Foreigners / NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous

(Source: ExpressBuzz)

1st Death Anniversary: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi... by Kovid Rathee

1st Death Anniversary: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi...

By Kovid Rathee - January 24 2012

I guess, while I am writing about him, he is singing Brindabani Sarang somewhere in the heavens. I vaguely remember that Doordarshan program with all those singers, mile sur mera tumhara. We’ve all have lived that song, at one point or the other. I never got a chance to see him perform live. For me, it all started with his masterpieces like Paayaliya Jhankaar Mori in Puriya Dhanashree. I remember when I first heard of that bandish in a fusion album by Pandit Ajay Pohankar; it was on my mind 24×7. In the coming years, I got around recordings of the same composition by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. I have around three hours of Puriya Dhanashree by Panditji. I am always looking for more.

I have been listening to a recording of his at the Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan of 1956. He is reciting Multani’s famous bandish Nainan Mein Aan Baan Kaun Si Pari. Multani was probably amongst his favorites. The renditions of Multani have been extraordinary. In fact, his recitals of Raagas like Puriya Dhanashree, Brindabani Sarang, Kalashree, Darbari Kanada, Marwa, Puriya, Bhairav, Ramkali, Jog, Puriya Kalyan, Miyan Ki Malhar, Komal Rishab Asavari, Jaunpuri and Madhuwanti should be treated as reference material for the ages to come. These recordings are ‘pure musical pleasure’ for the people who listen to Hindustani Music. And for the people who learn Hindustani Music, these recordings are treasure.

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi - Thumri Bhairav

Again coming back, I always wonder what it would have been like to listen to him live. How lucky those people were who got a glimpse of him performing! This always haunts my mind. Anyways, nothing can be done about it. So, I just stick to the YouTube for new videos of him performing. I’ve collected a few videos released by Doordarshan and Navras; and also tens of hours of audio recordings. I am always on the lookout.

He was one of the three persons awarded the Bharat Ratna during the last decade. With all due respect, I believe that the award itself was lucky to be given to such a man. I’ve been lucky to listen to him on an everyday basis. In my view, he is up there with all those big-ones of the likes of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Faiyaz Khan and so on. Panditji was one of the few classical vocalists who brought back the charm and popularity in Khayal. His style was an amalgamation of various Gharanas. Hailing from Kirana Gharana, he would still incorporate styles of Indore, Jaipur and other Gharanas also.

Take a moment, make a conscious effort and understand how lucky we people are to have been born in a age where Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sang.

P.S. – The Drinking Problem.

I just read an interview by Girish Karnad where he expresses how his drinking problem didn’t affect his singing. I came to know this fact of Panditji just today. I didn’t know that he, in a latter phase of his life, was alcoholic. I’ve heard stories about a few popular musicians who were became severely alcoholic at some stage in their lives. The other name that comes to my mind is Ustad Naseer Ahmed Khan of Delhi. I met this learned fellow, quite old, named Swadesh Bandhu last year, during the Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival 2011. And he told me whole lot of things about various musicians. He told me that he knew Naseer Ahmed Khan Sa’ab and told me that Khan Sa’ab had a drinking problem. But, of course, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ji never let alcohol come between him and music. I’ve heard that he performed after taking alcohol sometimes, but never did he fail to create that connection with the audience. 

Here’s the compilation of a few bandishes sung by him; http://bandishein.wordpress.com/tag/pandit-bhimsen-joshi/

To read more about Kovid Rathee.