Ram Mandir architect among 8 from Gujarat honoured with Padma awards

About the temple project which he started with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the 1990s, Sompura, who is closely tracking the temple project, told The Indian Express, “It will take another year for the entire complex to be completed” .

Chairman of Zydus Lifesciences, a leading pharma company which runs the chain of Zydus Hospitals, Pankaj Patel, 71, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the trade and industry sector. Patel is also the chairperson of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad and of IIM Udaipur.

Suresh Soni, who quit his job as a professor in MS University of Baroda to establish the Sahyog Kushth Rog Trust for leprosy patients in Sabarkantha, is among the Padma Shri winners besides Surendranagar’s Lavji Parmar, a Tangaliya weaver.

A weaver from the Dangasia community of Surendranagar, Parmar, has dedicated 40 years to conserving the 700-year-old legacy of Tangaliya — traditional weaving technique and promoting it among younger generations. The Tangaliya weave is a minimalistic design made by extra-weft patterns of raised dots that give the appearance of embroidered beadwork. A registered artisan with the Industrial Extension Cottage (INDEXT-c) of the Gujarat government, Parmar has promoted this unique weave through exhibitions across India and collaboration with sellers, reviving it from the verge of extinction. His initiatives have impacted many downtrodden families engaged in Tangaliya art by creating a Common Facility Center, where the local residents are trained. Parmar also provides technical and market support, employing 20-25 weavers and creating sustainable livelihood for others.

The other Padma Shri recipients include authors Chandrakant Sheth who got it posthumously, writer and poet Tushar Shukla, Ratan Parimoo for art. Both Sheth and Shukla got it for literature and education. Prof Parimoo was dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at MS University of Baroda for six years from 1975 and headed its department of history and aesthetics for 25 years.

He last served as the director of the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology in Ahmedabad. Reacting to the honour, Prof Parimoo said, “I have contributed to the fields of art, art education and museums for over half a century. I feel honoured to receive this recognition and thank the Union government for their support. I will continue to contribute with renewed zeal and inspire the younger generation of Indian artists and professionals”.