Padma awards for Illaiyaraja, Dhoni

Noted music composer I ll ai ya ra ja, Hindut va thinker Par ames war an Par ames war an, and former Team India captain MS D ho ni were among 85 people chosen for the prestigious Pad ma awards of 2018. Among the awardees, 16 are from the category of foreigners and non-resident Indians. While Illaiyaraja, Par ames war an and classical singer Ghulam Mustafa Khan were selected for PadmaVibhushan, the second highest civilian award after B ha rat Rat na, Dhoni and eight others got Pad ma B hush an.

Noted music composer Illaiyaraja, Hindutava thinker Parameswaran Parameswaran, former Team India captainMS Dhoni were among 85 people chosen for the prestigious Padma awards of 2018.

Among the awardees, 16 are from the category of foreigners, non-resident Indians and three are posthumous.

Illaiyaraja, 74, who has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 2009, was selected for the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna.

Besides him, noted Hindustani classical singer Ghulam Mustafa Khan and president of Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari, Parameswaran Parameswaran from Kerala, were honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.

Dhoni, cueist Pankaj Advani, former Russian Ambassador to India late Alexander Kadakin, Hindustani classical musician Arvind Parikh, Tamil Nadubased archaeologist Ramachandran Nagaswamy and Goan artist Laxman Pai were among nine prominent personalities who were honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

Keeping its promise of honouring “unsung heroes”, the government honoured with Padma awards several personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally.

Lakshmikutty, a tribal woman from Kerala, who prepares 500 herbal medicine from memory and help thousands of people especially in snake and insect bite cases, is among the awardees.

She teaches at Kerala Folklore Academy and lives in a small hut made of palm leaves roof in tribal settlement in a forest.