Japan ex-PM Abe, SPB given Padma Vibhushan

NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam were on Monday named for this year's Padma Vibhushan while former Chief Ministers late Tarun Gogoi and Keshubhai Patel, former Union Minister late Ram Vilas Paswan and former Speaker Sumitra Mahajan were awarded with Padma Bhushan.

Veteran playback singer Chithra has been conferred the Padma Bhushan. A few awardees from TN included noted vocalist Bombay Jayashree Ramnath, TV personality Solomon Pappaiyah, centurion organic farmer Pappammal and Sridhar Vembu who founded Zoho Corporation. The list includes Subbu Arumugam for Art, P Anitha in Sports, KC Sivasankar (posthumously) for Arts, P Subramanian (posthumously) for Trade and Industry, besides Dr Thiruvenkadam Veeraraghavan (posthumously) for Medicine.

CHENNAI: Sridhar Vembu of Zoho Corporation, vocalist Bombay Jayashree Ramnath, noted TV personality Solomon Pappaiyah, and centurion organic farmer Pappamal are among the Padma Shri awardees from the State this year.

Others who made it to the list — other than late playback singer SP Balasubramanyam, who has been posthumously awarded the highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan — include Subbu Arumugam (Art), P Anitha (Sports), KC Sivasankar (posthumously; Arts), P Subramanian (posthumously; Trade & Industry), Dr Thiruvenkadam Veeraraghavan (posthumously; Medicine), K Kesavasamy (Arts), Solomon Pappaiah (Literature), Pappammal (Agriculture), Bombay Jayashri Ramnath (Art), KC Sivasankar (posthumous; Art), Marachi Subburaman (social work), and Sridhar Vembu (Trade and Industry).

Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho Corporation, from Thanjavur, is the 59th richest Indian (Forbes) with a net worth of $2.5 billion but prefers a simple life.

At 105, Pappamal from Coimbatore is arguably the oldest farmer still active in her 2.5-odd acre farm. Besides working with the TNAU, she has also dabbled in politics and has been a local councillor in 1959.

Dr Thiruvenkadam Veeraraghavan was more famous a ‘Two-rupee doctor’, for this doctor born and brought up in Vyasarpadi, Chennai, attends to patients daily without charging them virtually anything.

Bombay Jayashree Ramnath is a well-known classical singer famed in all south Indian languages.

Subbu Arumugam of Tirunelveli, is synonymous with the art of villupattu, Anitha Pauldurai is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the Indian team. KC Sivasankar was an artist whose drawings brought Chandamama characters to life.