Professor Mani Bhaumik, of the University of California at Los Angeles, USA, is the foremost of Indian living physicists. But to everybody's utter chagrin, he has not received any national honour from the Government of India.
The same is the case with legendary filmmaker the late Ritwik Ghatak. While all his contemporary fellow filmmakers were recognised nationally (Satyajit Ray with Bharat Ratna, Mrinal Sen with Padma Bhushan, Adoor Gopalkrishnan with Padma Vibhushan), Ritwik Ghatak never received any of the Padma awards in his lifetime, even posthumously. But this great filmmaker is revered by intellectuals all over India as a legend.
It is not really understandable why the Padma awards committees cant see them for years.
Ustad Aashish Khan, Sarode maestro of eminence and worthy successor of the great legacies of Baba Alauddin Gharana of Senia Maihar, should have been honoured with Padma Bhushan this year, if not earlier than this. Ustad Aashish Khan is considered as one of the handfuls of India's greatest living Sarode maestros, and was groomed in Indian Classical Music by his grandfather Baba Alauddin Khan, father Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and aunt Shrimati Annapurna Debi. He has been performing at major world music stages with good reputation since a young age, and has now brightened India's name by getting the nomination for the Grammy Award 2006 in Best World Music category. Grammy is considered as the world's highest honour in music, and a person who has achieved this great distinction of getting nominated for Grammy, should have been honoured with a Padma Bhushan.
It will be a sheer folly on our part if we don't try to respect our traditional Indian culture and honour people who are Indian ambassadors to the world in this.
Can anyone tell us the actual contribution of Sri Khuswant Singh and Indra Nooyi? Are they really competent enough to deserve a national honour of the Republic of India?
There were better Indian writers than Khuswant Singh, and were also better Indian corporate executives than Indra Nooyi.
My goodness. I dont understand what is happening. Padma Bhushan is a prestigious award, and the dignity of this award should not be made cheap by honouring people who are not competent enough to deserve this award.
In my opinion the following people from Bengal deserve their outstanding excellence and tremendous contribution to be honoured with a national award. I humbly request the honourable government to give the issue a thought please, before deciding next year's Padma Bhushan awards list.
1. Ustad Aashish Khan (Art & Culture) - Senia Maihar Gharana Sarode maestro and Professor of Indian Classical Music at the California Institute of the Arts, USA; Grammy Award nominee in 2006 in best world music category.
2. Ustad Bahadur Khan (Art & Culture) - Senia Maihar Gharana Sarode maestro. One of the foremost Sarode maestros during his life time.
3. Professor Kaushik Basu PhD (Literature & Education) - Eminent economist and prolific author. Professor of Economics at Cornell University, USA.
4. Professor Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri PhD DLitt FRAS (Literature & Education) - Eminent Political Scientist and International Relations scholar. Prolific writer, senior current affairs analyst, and author of many books including 'Nuclear Politics: Towards A Safer World'. Presently, Professor Emeritus of the University Grants Commission, Fellow of the University of London, and Fellow of the Royal Society, UK. Former Adviser to the Indian Ministries of Defence and External Affairs.
Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, Professor Emeritus of the University Grants Commission and Fellow of the University of London, should have been honoured with Padma Bhushan for his exceptional contributions to India in the fields of education and national security. He is one of the country's most prominent social scientists, and his worthy contributions to India's defence and foreign policymaking has had to be honoured with a Padma Bhushan.
Ustad Aashish Khan, eminent Sarode maestro of eminence and worthy successor of the great legacies of Baba Alauddin Gharana of Senia Maihar, should have been honoured with Padma Bhushan this year, if not earlier than this. Ustad Aashish Khan is considered as one of the handfuls of India's greatest living Sarode players of India, and was groomed in Indian Classical Music by his grandfather Baba Alauddin Khan, father Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and aunt Shrimati Annapurna Debi. He has been performing at major world music stages with good reputation since a young age, and has now brightened India's name by getting nomination for the Grammy Award 2006 in Best World Music category. Grammy is considered as the world's highest honour in music, and a person who has achieved this great distinction of getting nominated for Grammy, should have been honoured with a Padma Bhushan.
It will be a sheer folly on our part if we don't try to respect our traditional Indian culture and honour people who are Indian ambassadors to the world in this.
RE:M.F.Hussain - person to whom Bharat Ratna must be given
by tathagata raychowdhury on Jan 27, 2007 11:42 PM
With showing due respect to the artistic genius of Maqbul Fida Hussein, I must say that I do not believe Maqbul Fida Hussein deserves a Bharat Ratna. Neither do I agree that he is the greatest painter of our times. And this is not the government's responsibility to see what kind of honour would work for which balm for whom. Funny!
Don't blame the politicians ! They are build by us. India is still in shables because of people like us commenting on others rather than doing our own work in thoughful and truthful way. Be true to ur self, we can be true to everyone.