Unsung heroes in Padma Shri list

New Delhi: Nonogenarian Bhakti Yadav, popularly known as “Doctor Dadi” from Indore, and captain of Indian cricket team of blind Shekhar Naik are among the unsung heroes who were on Wednesday named for Padma Shri.

The focus of this year’s Padma awards, according to the officials in the home ministry, was on recognising talent of unknown and unsung heroes of the country. Yadav, 91, is the first woman from Indore to hold an MBBS degree. She has been treating patients free of cost for the past 68 years and has helped deliver thousands of babies.

Thirty-year-old Naik had led the India’s cricket team of blind to victory in the first T20 World Cup in 2012 and ODI World Cup in 2014. He comes from a poor background and faced extreme hardship as he lost his parents at the age of 12.

Thangavelu, who won gold in Rio 2016, is a born fighter. He had suffered permanent disability in the right leg when he was run over by drunk bus driver.

His father had abandoned the family and he was raised by his mother who used to work as a labourer.

Karmakar, the 23-year-old “Produnova Princess” from Tripura, practised on an apparatus made from second-hand parts of a discarded scooter. She is only the fifth woman in the gymnastic history to land a Produnova vault.

Karnartka’s Sukri Bommagowda, known as “Nightingale of Halakki”, has been named for Padma Shri for performing tribal folk music for 58 years.

School dropout Jitendra Haripal, popular as “Rangabati ki Awaz”, has been selected for Padma Shri for his contribution to Odhisa’s most popular recorded song “Rangabati” and being a top exponent of Kosli-Sambalpuri music.

Ela Ahmad, 81, from Assam has been selected for Padma Shri for running the only magazine for women in the northeast since 1970.

“Granny with a sword”, 76-year-old Meenaakshi Amma from Kerala, who began her martial art classes at the age of seven, has also been chosen for Padma Shri. She is the country’s oldest woman Kalaripayattu exponent and has been practising and teaching martial arts for more than 68 years.

Kalaripayattu originated from south-west Kerala and is believed to be the root of Chinese martial arts.