Three Celebrities of Chhattisgarh Selected for Padma Shri

• 27 Jan 2023

Why In News?

On January 25, 2023, the President announced the country's highest civilian awards 'Padma Awards' for the year 2023 on the eve of Republic Day. Among these, three personalities from Chhattisgarh have been selected for the Padma Shri award.

Key points

• The President has approved the conferment of 106 Padma Awards including three dual cases (in a dual case, the award is counted as one) for the year 2023.
• The list includes 6 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 91 Padma Shri awardees. The list of awardees includes 19 women and 2 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 7 posthumous awardees.
• Sushri Usha Barle, Domar Singh Kunwar and Ajay Kumar Mandavi are among the three celebrities from Chhattisgarh selected for the Padma Shri award.
• Ms. Usha Barle of Durg district will be honored with Padma Shri award in the field of Pandavani singing. She has taken Pandavani training from renowned Pandavani singer Padma Vibhushan Teejanbai. Barle has performed Pandavani not only in India but also in cities like London and New York.
• Domar Singh Kunwar, a dancer and renowned artist, a resident of Village Lata Bod of Balod district, has been selected for Padma Shri to bring fame to the extinct dance art of Chhattisgarh from the country to abroad. He has staged this art more than 5 thousand times.
• Ajay Kumar Mandavi, a resident of Govindpur village in Kanker district, has introduced Gond tribal art in wood crafts. He has brought about a change in the lives of more than 350 people of the naxal area by connecting the affected and misguided people of the Naxal area with wood craftsmanship as well as connecting the youth with the wonderful art of wood. Mandavi will be honoured with the Padma Shri award for his work in motivating the youth to get rid of guns from their hands and pick up the chisel.
• Significantly, Padma award is included in the highest civilian awards of the country. The Padma awards are given in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are announced on Republic Day every year.
• The awards, social work public affairs science and engineering are given in the fields of various disciplines trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc/activities such as art.
• '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.
• These awards are presented by the President of India in ceremonial ceremonies which are usually held at Rashtrapati Bhavan around March/April every year.