Hyderabad: At long last, one of Telangana’s most famous artists, Kalal Laxma Goud, 75, got recognition from the Centre, which awarded him the nation’s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, on Monday.
The Centre had ignored his name last year when it was forwarded by the Telangana state government. The award was finally given when the state pressed his case a second time this year.
Laxma Goud is recognised for his graceful, yet powerful line drawings, etchings and water colours. Laxma Goud was born in Nizampur, now in Medak district, in 1940 and earned a diploma in drawing and painting from the Govern-ment College of Art in 1963.
Mr T. Hanumanth Rao, a close friend, said, “It is an honour to Laxma Goud's entire family and those who intend to follow his path. His passion and dedication brought him this far. He has a vision, plays with his ideas and brings a new meaning to life.”
Dr. Nageshwar Reddy - Padma Bhushan
Dr. Nageshwar Reddy - Padma Bhushan
Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, winner of Padma Bhushan, said on Monday that the award brought to him “more responsibility” as a doctor. “For me, the takeaway is that the field of gastroenterology has been recognised and the work which is presently going on in this stream will be highlighted,” he said in his response. Dr Reddy is one of the experts in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy and president of World Endoscopy Organisation which has units in over 150 countries. Dr Reddy had won several awards including Master Endoscopist award from the American Society of Gastroenterology and Master of World Gastroenterology from World Gastroenterology Organisation.
He has nearly 400 research papers and several textbooks to his credit. He graduated from Kurnool Medical College, did his masters at Madras Medical College and gastroenterology specialty from PGIMER Chandigarh.
Sunita Krishnan - Padma Shri
Sunita Krishnan - Padma Shri
Padma Shri award winner Dr. Sunitha Krishnan, founder of Prajwala, an anti-trafficking organisation, says the award will build more fire within her to fight against the demand for paid sex. “The award comes with more responsibility. I will be more aggressive in my work, I believe thousands of women and children would be saved by bringing an end to paid-sex. My aim is to make lives miserable for rapists and finally they may understand the term deterrence. I hope I will succeed in getting a national sex offender register. I am humbled and believe that the award is more of a recognition to the cause.” She was born in Kerala, but concentrates on and has an established organisation in AP and Telangana. She won award under the AP category.
Dr. Y. Lakshmi Prasad - Padma Bhushan
Dr. Y. Lakshmi Prasad - Padma Bhushan
The prestigious Padma Bhushan award has been conferred on Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad on Monday for his outstanding literary contributions in Hindi and Telugu.
Dr. Lakshmi Prasad served as a professor and head of department of Hindi in Andhra University. He was a member of Rajya Sabha between 1996 and 2002. Dr Prasad told DC he viewed the award as a honour coming the way of Telugu language.
“I would try to push the case work for establishing a Telugu University in Rajahmundry. The state government should encourage communication in Telugu language in government offices and make Telugu a mandatory language from Class I to intermediate,” Dr Lakshmi Prasad added. Dr Prasad wrote about 62 books in Telugu and Hindi and was honoured in the past with Sahitya Akademi awards twice. Dr. Prasad got Padma Shri in 2003.
Dr. A.V. Rama Rao - Padma Bhushan
Dr. A.V. Rama Rao - Padma Bhushan
Dr A.V. Rama Rao who won Padma Bhushan for his works in science and engineering is a former director of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. Dr Rao continued work even after his retirement in 1995. Dr Rao said, “I was conferred the Padma Shri in 1991 and the government has recognised my works even after retirement and given me one more award. I get scientific awards every year but this award is more important.” Dr Rao has developed over 50 drug technologies that have been commercialised by the pharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Mannam Gopichand - Padma Shri
Dr. Mannam Gopichand - Padma Shri
Dr Mannam Gopichand, who has conducted over 3,000 surgeries on children with heart problems, said the Padma Shri award that came his way was both an exciting and humbling experience. “I am very much humble,” the cardiothoracic surgeon at Star Hospitals at Banjara Hills said. “I am the face of the award, but it also belongs to the 20 people who have worked with me.” After graduation from Guntur Medical College, he left for West Indies where he developed his initial skills in surgery.
Dr. A.G. Gokhale - Padma Shri
Dr. A.G. Gokhale - Padma Shri
Dr Alla Gopalakrishna Gokhale who won Padma Shri is attached to Apollo Health City in Hyderabad. “This has come as a pleasant surprise. Whatever I and my team are doing has been to ensure that emergency patients are well-taken care of. The heart transplants, emergency cases and cardio-thoracic surgeries are done not only in private but also government hospitals,” Dr Gokhale said. He graduated from Guntur Medical College and did his masters from the Christian Medical College, Vellore. To start with, he performed about 15 heart
transplants and one lung transplant in 2012.
Dr. Yarlagadda Nayudamma - Padma Shri
Dr. Yarlagadda Nayudamma - Padma Shri
Work hard. You will get recognition one day,” responded 69-year-old Dr. Yarlagadda Nayudamma, the senior paediatric surgeon who was honoured with Padma Shri marking the nation’s 67th Republic Day. His services are spread over three decades. The outstanding ones were separations of three sets of conjoined twins, all of them leading healthy lives today. He is at present a consultant paediatric surgeon here. Born in 1947 in remote village Karamchedu in Prakasam district, he did his schooling from the Yarlagadda Nayudamma Oriental High School.
Andhra Pradesh
Padma Vibhushan, CH .Ramoji Rao
Padma Bhushan
Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad
Dr. Venkata Rama Rao Alla
Padma Shri
Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale
Dr. Yarlagadda Nayudamma
Ms. Sunita Krishnan
Telangana
Padma Bhushan
Professor D. Nageshwar Reddy
Saina Nehwal
Sania Mirza
Padma Shri
Dr. T.V. Narayana
Dr. Mannam Gopi Chand
K. Laxma Goud
