Five from Odisha get Padma honours

Bhubaneswar: Five eminent personalities from Odisha have been selected to receive Padma Shri — the fourth highest civilian award in India, this year which were announced today on the eve of Republic Day.

Noted Odisha-born film director Sisir Misra, Prabhakara Maharana (Sculpture), Gobardhan Panika (Art-Weaving), Bhabani Charan Pattanaik (Public Affairs), Chandra Sekhar Rath (Literature and Education) will receive the Padma Shri award.

Notably, Mishra also known as Sisir P. Mishra is an Indian director and a screenplay writer born in Brahmapur, Odisha. Mishra is known for his work in movies like Billoo Baadshah (1989) and Samay Ki Dhara (1986). He was a lecturer in Physics. But he left that job and moved to Mumbai in 1965 and started his film career in Hindi films as Assistant Director under Mehboob Khan (Mother India).

Some of his best films in odia are Sindura Bindu (1976), Suna Sansar (1977), Subarna Sita (1983), Samaya Bada Balwan (1985), Aei Aama Sansara (1986), Bastra Haran (1991), Suna Bhauja (1194) and Sabata Maa (2003).

Rath is a doyen of Odia literature excelling in the genres of fiction, non-fiction, andpoetry. He is also a creative artist working with sculpture, painting, clay modelling, doodling, and carving on wood and stone.

The government announced 85 Padma awards on Thursday.

Of these, three were Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan, and 73 Padma Shri.

16 awardees were either foreigners, PIOs, or NRIs, while three of the awards were conferred posthumously

Over 15,700 applications were received for this year’s awards, the ministry of home affairs said.