3 Extraordinary Padma Shri Award Recipients of 2022

Source: Swaraj

Padma awards are considered to be of the highest civilian recognition in India. These awards are given in many disciplines such as social work, public affairs, art, literature and education, sports, civil engineering, trade and industry, medicine, and others.

This year’s Padma list consisted of 128 awards: 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan along with 107 Padma Shri recipients. Today we'll discuss 3 Padma Shri Award recipients who have shown extraordinary courage with their service.

1. Guru Swami Sivananda

Source: Tribune India

Guru Swami Sivananda received the Padma Shri award on 21st March 2022 (Monday) from President Ram Nath Kovind for yoga. This 125-year-old guru received a standing ovation from the guests at the ceremony. Dressed in white kurta and dhoti, Sivananda walked barefoot inside the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Being a yoga practitioner, he prostrated before Prime Minister Narendra Modi who in turn bowed and touched the ground himself. The guru knelt before the President who stood up and helped Sivananda rise to his feet. Born in August 1896, Sivananda is a monk in Varanasi. He lost his parents at age 6. He used to eat water and boiled rice most of the time during his childhood. Denying his parents' last rites he chose celibacy.

He was brought up by Guru Omkarananda Goswami in an ashram in Nabadwip in West Bengal. Guru Goswami equipped him with spiritual knowledge along with yoga. Even at the age of 125, Sivananda wakes up at 3 am every day and follows his undeviating routine. He lives a strict and disciplined lifestyle.

He practices yoga religiously, sleeps on a mat on the floor, with a wooden slab for his pillow, eats simple oil-free boiled foods, and dedicates his life to mankind. He has been serving the underprivileged in many parts of India: Varanasi, Puri, Haridwar, Nabadwip, and many others. He has been Serving Leprosy-affected people at Puri for more than 50 years. He has helped around 400-600 leprosy-affected beggars by personally meeting them.

He arranges items like food, fruits, winter clothes, blankets, nets, cooking utensils for these people. He imparts the importance of helping people and feeling the joy of doing something good for someone. His belief that “The world is my home, its people are my fathers and mothers, to love and serve them is my religion.” shows his dedication to human welfare.

His healthy and long life has drawn attention from around the globe. On June 21st, 2019, World Yoga Day, Sivananda was the senior-most participant from India. He received the Yoga Ratna Award in Bengaluru and Basundhara Ratan Award the same year.

2. Ms. Gamit Ramilaben Raysingbhai

Source: Twitter

In India, many people still practice open defecation, especially women in rural areas. They lack clean-living conditions and proper sanitation facilities. This problem is being solved by Ramilaben. Ramilaben is a 52-year-old tribal social worker who received Padma Shri Award in 2022.

From Tapi in Gujarat, Ramilaben contributes to making sanitary units available to women. She keeps track that people do not defecate in the open and wishes to make villages free of open defecation. Her work has transformed nine villages to open defecation-free villages. Having created more than 300 sanitary units, she held awareness events in villages.

She received Swachh Shakti Puraskar from PM Narendra Modi on this women’s day. Ramilaben says that Women have excelled in all fields including sports, science, healthcare, politics, and technology.

Yet an environment where women get equal respect within their families and in society, in general, is not achieved. She believes that “more focus on providing better education, safety, and health care benefits to women” are required.

3. Avani Lekhara

Source: Zee Zest

Avani Lekhara, a 20-year-old Indian Paralympic Shooter is the recipient of the Padma Shri Award in the field of sports. In the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Avani won a gold medal in 10m air rifle standing. She also won a bronze medal in 50m rifle 3 positions.

Avani had a car accident when she was 11. It left her paraplegic but it did not stop her from becoming India's first woman to win a gold medal in Tokyo. She got inspired by another shooter Abhinav Bindra, an Olympic gold medalist himself. She is now an inspiration for people with disabilities and has motivated many Para athletes to join sports.

She has inspired disabled women who have joined sports and are putting in hard work. She has proved that disability cannot stop you from having successful careers. She had her first modeling for PUMA, a company of mannequins on wheelchairs. This shows we need to celebrate women and men of all types and recognize them for their hard work irrespective of their disabilities.

Conclusion

It has been a long time since people like Ramilaben and Avani Lekhara are recognized nationally. With the current government, PM Narendra Modi has honored many hidden heroes that have contributed to our society selflessly.

Written by Garima Jain