Inspiring stories of Our Padma Shri Awardee of 2020 — Episode : 1
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Padma Awards — one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various 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 Shri is 4th highest civilian award in India, which is in true sense a People's awards as it recognises the common mens' effort to make this world a better place. This year, the 141 Padma awards list comprises 118 Padam shree awardees in different disciplines, knowing about them would give us a sense of our responsibilities and would encourage to do something better for our society.
This article is a series of Padma Shri Awardees names, their brief introduction and the contribution which they made to the society. It will have a 12 Pages, each having 10 personalities info.
- Guru Shashadhar Acharya
Field : Art
State / Country : Jharkhand
About Him :
His ancestors were priests of the Seraikela royal family but they had a unique connection with Seraikela Chhau. Seraikela Chhau exponent and guru Shashadhar Acharya, 59, from Jharkhand, is a fifth-generation dancer of his family.
In his own words, “My father Lingaraj Acharya was my first guru. In fact not just of me, but my three other siblings, then came Natshekhar Bana Bihari Pattnaik, Vikram Karmakar, Padma Shri Kedarnath Sahu and Padma Shri Sudhendranath Singhdeo, the last of whom was also a member of the Seraikela royal family. I have learnt from all of them and I tell my own students to be as sincere in learning and take Seraikela Chhau to greater heights,” said Acharya.
Reference :
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/jharkhand/dance-as-a-legacy-for-shashadhar-acharya/cid/1739993
2. Dr. Yogi Aeron
Field : Medicine
State : Uttarakhand
About Him :
Himalayan doctor who treats burn patients for free. Aeron has been treating patients for disfigured or burnt faces for over 25 years now without fees. Residing in Malsi, 10 km from Dehradun on Mussoorie road, Aeron starts his day with lining up his appointments with his assistant who has been with him since the last 27 years.Born in Muzaffarnagar district in the year 1937, Aeron graduated from King George Medical College in Lucknow. In 1982, he travelled to the United States get to specialise in plastic surgery. “My sister who practised in the US-supported me to get desired exposure in the field. That helped me immensely,” added Aeron.
His four-acre campus which he bought in the year 1983 is no less than a science park that has been built for over five years now. The aim is to convert the facility into a learning space for the children as well as a treatment facility for the underprivileged. Since 2006, Aeron has been running a two-week camp twice a year. During these camps, patients below the poverty line are treated for disfigured lips, cheeks, nose and other parts of the face. In this venture, Aeron gets assistance and support from a team of 15–16 US-based doctors.
On average, nearly 500 surgeries are done by the doctor who has been accorded the status of God. With over 10,000 patients on the waiting list for free treatment, Aeron constantly strives to find ways for funding the costs of those who cannot bear it. From asking for help from his friends in India and abroad to roping in NGOs and the government he has done it all but the horizon seems to be expanding. Interestingly, he was supported financially by his father after he became a father of two children and has started his job in Dehradun district government hospital.
Kush, his son who is also a doctor says, “My father has never been able to manage his finances for his own. He does it for his patients which makes him happy.”
3. Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal
Field : Trade and Industry
State : Delhi
About Him :
Jai Prakash Agarwal is chairman of Surya Roshni Limited (formerly Prakash Surya Roshni Limited), which is an Indian multinational Fans, Steel, Lighting, LED, Kitchen Appliances and PVC Pipes manufacturing company headquartered in Delhi, India. Surya exports its products over 44 countries and has a turnover close to Rs. 5,975 crore.
The organisation also runs Surya Foundation, a social NGO established in 1992 by Jai Prakash Agarwal, with a view to promote a greater sense of national consciousness and social awareness among our countrymen particularly the youth.
4. Shri Jagdish Lal Ahuja
Field : Social Work
State/Country : Punjab
About Him :
Eighty three-year old businessman turned social worker Jagdish Lal Ahuja popularly known as a ‘Langar Baba’, Ahuja has been running a free kitchen (Langar) for poor people outside two big Chandigarh hospitals (PGIMER) since last two decades. Going down the memory lane, Ahuja recalls his struggles and how he lived a very difficult life despite being a businessman. Originally from Pakistan, Jagdish had come to India at the time of partition when he was just 12 years old. His family had initially taken refuge at Patiala camp but were later shifted to camps in Amritsar and Mansa.
Recounting the times when he had come to India with his family Jagdish, tells, “ My father was compelled to sell things on pavements in cities to feed us all. I also joined him very often. We used to buy 2 kilograms of Moong Dal for a rupee and would make several packets out of them before going out to sell it on the pavements.” Jagdish states that because of the compulsion to work from an early age, he could not get formal education. He moved to Chandigarh from Mansa later with a meager saving of Rs 415. “My life has always been very difficult. But amid all the miseries, serving people without any expectation has been a source of pleasure and satisfaction for me. Everytime, I would go around to settlements and clusters of homeless people, kids would surround me, They waited for me to visit them,” recalls Jagdish.
5. Kazi Masum Akhtar
Field : Literature and Education
State/Country : West Bengal
About Him :
He has written articles about the upliftment of Muslims, and against the vote-bank politics that revolves around them, and also spearheaded a movement against the practice of triple talaq, collecting over one lakh signatures and submitting a memorandum to the President of India.
Akhtar was stripped of his position as headmaster at the madrasa after a section of Muslim clerics petitioned the government against him, stating he was trying to “mislead” the students and insulting the religion by singing national anthem and writing “anti-Islamic” pieces in newspapers and books. He also spoke about the ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Bengal and many other parts of the country, and insisted that Indian Muslims had nothing to worry about.
6. Ms. Gloria Arieira
Field : Literature and Education
State / Country : Brazil
About Her :
Gloria, a resident of Rio de Janerio, has been teaching and promoting Vedanta and Sanskrit across cities in Brazil for decades. She commenced her studies at Arsha Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai in January 1974.During her stay in India, she also studied at ashrams in Uttarkashi and Rishikesh, and attended courses and lectures across the country, before returning to Brazil in 1978.
Apart from teaching, Gloria also frequently speaks on spirituality, self-knowledge, and the teachings of the Vedas. Further, she has also translated various Sanskrit texts into Portuguese, including the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, among others. Working to spread the culture and the knowledge of the Vedas since 1984, Gloria has also founded Vidya Mandir, a non-profit organization based in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.
7. Khan Zaheerkhan Bakhtiyarkhan
Field : Sports
State / Country : Maharashtra
About Him :
Zaheer Khan (born 7 October 1978) is an Indian former cricketer who played all forms of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. He was the second-most successful Indian pace bowler in Test cricket, behind Kapil Dev. Khan started his domestic career by playing for Baroda. In the early years of his career, Khan was known for his hostile seam and pace bowling, especially fast inch-perfect yorkers.
In a bid to improve his bowling, Khan moved to England for a short stint with Worcestershire in 2006. A left-arm fast-medium bowler, he was best known for his ability to “move the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at some pace”.Khan continues to excel in reverse swing with the old ball.
Reference :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaheer_Khan
8. Dr. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay
Field : Medicine
State / Country : Uttar Pradesh
About Her :
First woman Air Marshal in The Indian Air Force (IAF). Became the Director General Medical Services (Air) at the Air Headquarters. During the 1971 war with Pakistan, Bandhopadhyay, then an intern fresh out of the IAF command hospital in Bangalore, was posted along with her husband, S.N. Bandhopadhyay, at the Halwara airbase in Punjab. For their contributions to the war effort, both Bandhopadhyay and her husband, an administrative officer, were awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), an award for exemplary devotion to duty. This resulted in the first-ever husband and wife team to be honoured with the VSM at the same defence ceremony by the President.
A member of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicines, International Medical Society and New York Academy of Sciences. Has also been a member of a research expedition to the Arctic. She is the first Indian woman to have conducted scientific research at the North Pole. In the late eighties, she went to the Arctic to join an Indo-Russian physiology experiment to determine whether people from tropical Indian climates could acclimatise themselves to extreme cold conditions. She spent four months at the North Pole between November 1989 and February 1990. On her return, she was awarded Indira Priyadarshini Award for being an Outstanding Lady with so many achievements. This was the first time any Lady in uniform was honoured with this Award. She was also awarded the Air Force Wives Welfare Association Trophy by AFWWA.
9. Dr. Sushovan Banerjee
Field : Medicine
State / Country : West Bengal
About him :
Bengal’s One Rupee Doctor: The residents of Bolpur in West Bengal know Dr Sushovan Banerjee as the ‘Ek Takar Daktar’ or the one rupee doctor. Dr Banerjee treats his patients from economically weaker families for just one rupee and on Sunday, his bonafide work was recognised.
He is also an ex-MLA from Bolpur seat and had contested on a Congress ticket in 1984. He said he shares cordial relations with former President of India Pranab Mukherjee and said that on the former President called to congratulate him on the achievement. He further said that Pranab Mukherjee saw him as a younger brother.
10. Dr. Digambar Behera
Field : Medicine
State / Country : Chandigarh
About Him :
A former Head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER, Dr Behera was given two-year extension after retirement. Hailing from a humble background, he remained the Director, LRS Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, from 2006 to 2012.
He is a fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the American College of Chest Physicians and the Asia Pacific Society of Respirology. He has 550 research papers and nine books to his credit.
Reference :
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/dr-behera-lung-cancer-specialist-gets-padma-shri-31736
