From specialists in music to wildlife conservation, six persons from Tamil Nadu have found a place for their distinguished work in a range of fields on the Padma Awards list announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday evening.
The Padma Vibhushan will be awarded to music maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Addressing mediapersons at his residence, the maestro said he believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had honoured Tamil Nadu and its people by conferring on him the Padma Vibhushan award, the second highest civilian honour in the country. The musician, who has composed songs for over 1,000 movies in several languages, has predominantly worked in Tamil and other southern film industries.
Having served as the Director of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, Ramachandran Nagaswamy, a multi-faceted personality who has been named for the Padma Bhushan award, was instrumental in starting several regional, district and site museums, as well as initiating the famous Chidambaram Natyanjali festival.
An accomplished epigraphist and international expert in south Indian bronzes, Mr. Nagaswamy appeared as an expert witness in the London High Court in the famous London Nataraja Case where he was described in the judgment as an unequalled expert in his subject.
He has sought to popularise archaeology among students and has taken steps to involve them in the preservation of monuments.
Age no barrier
At 98 years of age, V. Nanammal from Coimbatore, regarded as one of the oldest yoga teachers in the country, will be given the Padma Shri. A teacher at the Ozone Yoga Centre, which she founded in 1972, Ms. Nanammal has trained lakhs of students who have gone on to win laurels at international competitions.
Speaking about his Padma Shri recognition, 72-year-old R. Vasudevan, dean, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, said that the recognition would encourage young people to get involved in projects that benefit the common man.
“This is a great honour for a simple task which is useful to the common man and the country,” he said, while thanking the college management for extending all assistance to popularise technology.
Well known among the residents of his city as the 'Plastic Man of India' he evolved a technology which enables the use of plastic waste in road construction.
Romulus Whitaker, founder of the Madras Snake Park, who also set up the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, has been awarded the Padma Shri for his work in wildlife conservation.
The conservationist and herpetologist has been helping to preserve biodiversity in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and has been involved in reptile research and conservation.
Preserving traditions
Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan, an acclaimed Tamil folk artist, has been recognised with the Padma Shri for the collection, documentation and preservation of Tamil folk and tribal music. The folk exponent, who is a retired professor from the Madurai Kamaraj University, had been with the Department of Folk Arts and Culture and was instrumental in coming up with a Tamil folk art encyclopedia.
