It is a proud day for the Telugu states as five people from Telangana and three from Andhra Pradesh have bagged the Padma awards. Apart from these recipients, Microsoft CEO Satya Narayana Nadella, who has roots in Hyderabad has also been honoured with a Padma Bhushan Award. The list of awardees was announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, January 25.
The winners from the Telugu states are:
Darshanam Mogilaiah - Art (Padma Shri)
Darshanam Mogilaiah hails from the Amrabad forest reserve in Telangana’s Mahbubnagar and is part of the Dakkali tribe. He plays the 12-fret Kinnera. He received the state’s highest honour, the Ugadi Puraskaram, in 2015. He was recently in the news for lending his vocals to Pawan Kalyan’s introduction song of Bheemla Nayak. The artist is popularly called Kinnera Mogilaiah.
Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella - Trade and Industry (Padma Bhushan)
Krishna and Suchitra Ella are co-founders of Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm Bharat Biotech, which is credited for developing several vaccines, including Covaxin -- India's first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19. The firm has also developed several other vaccines against Zika virus, swine flu and hepatitis.
Padmaja Reddy - Art (Padma Shri)
Kuchipudi dancer Padmaja Reddy is credited with bringing back the Kakatiyam dance form which dates back to the Kakatiya dynasty. Over the past seven years, she studied the dance form which had gone out of practice, and also studied the inscriptions depicting the dance form on Ramappa Temple, Warangal Fort and many other monuments.
Shri Ramachandraiah - Art (Padma Shri)
Shri Ramachandraiah who hails from Telangana has been awarded the Padma Shri award in the Art category.
Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan- Art (Padma Shri)
Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan was a renowned player of the musical instrument nadaswaram. He had served as the 'resident vidhwan' of Bhadrachaalam temple in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Andhra Pradesh for over four decades. He has been presented this award posthumously.
Dr Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao- Medicine (Padma Shri)
Dr Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao is an Indian orthopaedic surgeon noted for his work for the poor and needy. The 83-year-old surgeon was born in Andhra Pradesh’s Bhimavaram in West Godavari district. Rao completed his MBBS degree in 1966 and in 1970, he completed his Masters degree in Orthopaedic surgery from Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam. Rao was awarded a National Award for his welfare works for the disabled. In 2014, he received the National Award for Child Welfare from the President of India.
Narasimha Rao Garikapati- Literature and Education (Padma Shri)
Garikipati Narasimha Rao who hails from Andhra Pradesh, is an exponent of Avadhanam, a literary performance where artists come up with poetry on any topic that the audience gives them. Rao has performed over 220 Avadhanams since 1972. He has also delivered lectures on the Hindu culture and ancient Hindu texts.