M A I N   N E W S

Padma Vibhushan for Amonkar, Sorabjee

New Delhi, January 25
Hindustani vocalists Gangubai Hangal and Kishori Amonkar, noted economist C. Rangarajan, Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee and tabla player Pandit Kishan Maharaj were tonight chosen for Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian honour.

Prominent among the Padma Bhushan awardees are cricketer Chandu Borde, mountaineer H.P.S. Ahluwalia, theatre personality Habib Tanwir, film maker Ismail Merchant, jurist K.K. Venugopal, diplomats M.K. Rasgotra and Jagat S. Mehta, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, danseuse Sitara Devi and leading expert in banking and trade and head of a trust that runs a major Gujarati newspaper Pravinchandra V. Gandhi.

US Congressmen Frank Pallone and Gary Ackerman, leading members of the India caucus, will also get the awards.

Others among the 27 named for the Padma Bhushan are Yoga Guru B.K.S. Iyengar, IT expert Faquir Chand Kohli, businessman Henniing Holck Larsen, singer K.J. Yesudas, thumri exponent Shobha Gurtu, vocalist Prabha Atre, industralist Keshub Mahindra, cartoonist Mario Miranda, N. Ranghabashyam (medicine), litterateur Nirmal Verma, R.V. Perumal (science and engineering), former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University of Technology V.C. Kulandaiswamy.

Among the 66 Padma Shri awardees are leading aeronautics engineer Kota Harinarayana, who is associated with the prestigious light combat aircraft (LCA) project, noted Ghatam player “Vikhu” Vinayak Ram from Chennai, Vichitra Veena exponent Vishwa Mohan Bhatt from Jaipur, noted film directors Govind Nihalani and Mani Ratnam.

Leading Tamil actress Manorama, who has acted in over 500 films is among the Padma Shri awardees.

Other Padma Shri awardees include Ustad Abdul Latif Khan (instrumental music), Darshana Jhaveri (classical dance), Fazal Mohammed (crafts), Kiran Sehgal (dance), Mani Krishnaswami (carnatic music), N.P. Seshadri (classical music), Pushpa Bhuyan (classical dance), Raj Begum (art), Rajan Devdas (photography), Saroja Vaidyanathan (classical dance) and Korean artist Yang-Shik Kim were among the Padma Shri awardees.

The noted scientists A.S. Narayana (dentistry), Amitav Mallik (defence research), Anand Swarup Arya (engineering), A.S. Pillai (engineering), Ashok Jhunjhunwala (telecommunications), B.N. Suresh (engineering), Chaitanyamoy Ganguly (nuclear science), Prof D. Balasubramanian (ocular biochemistry) and Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy (medicine) have been given the award for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields.

Noted Sri Lankan artist W. Don Amardeva was also given Padma Shri for his contribution in the field of classical music.

The other scientists who have been given Padma Shri include G.N. Rao (medicine), Harsh Mahajan (radiology), H.S. Kamath (nuclear science), I.V. Subba Rao (agriculture science), K. Narayana (engineering), Dr (Mrs) K. Mathangi Ramakrishnan (medicine), Kamaljit Singh Paul (neurosurgery, USA), N. Balakrishnan (engineering), P.K. Sethi (medicine) and P. Balaram (biophysics), Prakash Kothari (medicine), Ramnath Cowsik (physics), Suresh H. Advani (oncology), Vijay Kumar Dada (ophthalmology), Vikram Marwaha (medicine), V.K. Sharma (nuclear science) and Pradeep K. Chaubey (medicine).

Noted educationist Ashok Ramchandra Kelkar, Gopal Chhotray (playwright), Gyan Chand Jain (literature), Indira Goswami (education), Madhu Mangesh Karnik (literature), M. Anandakrishnan (literature), Muzaffar Hussain (journalism), T.K. Rao (journalism), V.K. Madhavan Kutty (mass communication), and Greek literary figure V. Dimitris C.

Among those who have been given Padma Shri for their contribution in the field of social work include Hrashel Luaia, Kiran Martin, Norma Alvares, US-based Phillips Talbot (public affairs), Prakash Amte, son of Baba Amte, Prema Purav, S. Rajaram, Satish Chandra Rai, Japanese social activist T. Nakoyama and Viresh Pratap Chaudhry. PTI