Padma Awards, a special year for Tamil Nadu

The Padma awards honor Bharathanatyam exponents and legends in Tamil Nadu, including Vyjayanthimala Bali and Padma Subrahmanyam.

With two Bharathanatyam exponents and legends honoured with the Padma Vibhushan this year, the Padma awards are something special for Tamil Nadu. Eight eminent personalities have been chosen to receive the awards for 2024.

Actor, musician, and Bharathanatyam dancer Vyjayanthimala Bali, who began dancing at the age of eight and even recently performed Sri Andal’s Sanga Tamizh Malai’ of 30 pasurams at 90, said: “Firstly, I bow down to the Almighty for his mercy. I wish to wholeheartedly express my thanks and gratitude to the Government of India on bestowing the Padma Vibhushan Award upon me for my contribution to the great art form of Bharatanatyam and also a memorable, successful film career. I am humbled by this honour conferred upon me.” She learnt dance from doyen K.P. Kittappa Pillai and music from D.K. Pattammal.

The other Padma Vibhushan this year, Bharathanatyam dancer, guru, and choreographer Padma Subrahmanyam said: “It was a very gratifying experience to receive information that I am being given the Padma Vibhushan by the President of India. It’s truly a great honour and I take it with all humility. I bow my head with utmost respects to my parents, all my gurus and my spiritual guru Maha Periyava of Kancheepuram, who still guides me in all my thoughts, words, and actions. I share this honour with the entire dance fraternity of India.” The daughter of Director K. Subrahmanyam, who was an internationally reputed film pioneer and freedom fighter, she has received more than 135 awards. Her research on the Karanas in Indian dance and sculpture is a pioneering one. 

Nagaswaram artist Seshampatti T. Sivalingam, who has been chosen for the Padma Shri in the field of arts. The artist who started performing at the age of 10, said it was with the blessings of all his gurus and parents that he got the award. “I have performed in front of former Chief Minister M.G.R. Even though the organisers told me to stop, he told me to perform, and I played two krithis,” he recalled rather proudly. Mr. Sivalingam came to Chennai in 1968 when he was just 20 and studied at the Government Music College and also performed concerts. “My family needed financial support at that time so I used to send money home. Sometime in 1981, I bought a 650 sq.ft house in Chennai in which I continue to live.”

Padma Shri awardee, Badrappan M., who hails from Dasampalayam in Mettupalayam taluk in Coimbatore, is an exponent of Valli Oyil Kummi, a folk dance, which is a mixed form of song and dance performance that depicts the stories of deities Murugan and Valli. Having learnt the art form as a youngster, he has been performing for the past 60 years now. A small farmer by trade, he says his grandchildren now look after the lands. “When I started folk arts, I used to keep the public informed. We would tell stories and teach the importance of being truthful. But now, in this modern age people refuse to accept the folk arts. They have lost touch with physical labour,” he said.

Writer Joe D’Cruz, who was chosen for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, said his research for his abandoned PhD in economics was an eye opener about the society and the fishermen community in particular. “When you are down, an award from the government is like a pat on the back. This award is a recognition for the coastal communities, whose voice I wanted to be and still strive to be,” he said, the CEO of a logistics company who has been in the shipping industry for several decades now.

“Our dedication and service to the poor and the downtrodden since the hospital’s inception in 1976 have got me the most prestigious award in the country – the Padma Shri,” said G. Natchiar, one of the founding-members and Director-Emeritus of the Aravind Eye Care System. “In addition to the service we provide, the Aravind Eye Care System also trains doctors from other under-developing countries, who would, in turn, treat their people,” she added.