Page 26 - NIS English 01-15 March,2023

Nation Women in Padma Samman

SUMAN KALYANPUR

SHE STILL RULES THE HEART OF PEOPLE

uman Kalyanpur has been away from singing for almost 30 years but even
Stoday her voice is close to the hearts of people. Perhaps this was the reason
why after so many years it was decided to confer Padma Bhushan on Suman
Kalyanpur at the age of 85. She captivated music lovers with her voice for more
than four decades. Even today listening to her songs gives a peace of mind.
She has sung more than 750 songs and had given her voice in 11 languages
including Hindi, Marathi, Bangla, and Assamese.
She worked with more than 10 composers, including Shankar Jaikishan, SD
Burman, and Laxmikant Pyarelal. She sang more than 140 songs in Jugalbandi
with Mohammed Rafi. She was honoured by the Government of Maharashtra
with the Lata Mangeshkar Award and also received Life Time Achievement
Award and the Mirchi Music Award.

VANI JAIRAM

SHE LENDS VOICE FOR HYMNS
TO TRADITIONAL, POP, AND GHAZALS

he famous prayer 'Hum ko man ki shakti dena' from the film Guddi is
Tsung as a prayer in many schools of India even today, it was decided
to give Padma Bhushan to the famous Tamil Nadu singer Vani Jayaram
who lent her voice to it. The singer, who has enthralled music lovers
with her songs for more than 50 years, has sung more than 20,000 film
songs and bhajans. She sang in more than 15 languages including Hindi,
Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, and Gujarati. She lent her voice to pop music,
ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, and folk songs. From
the age of eight, she started performing on All India Radio. She became
the youngest singer to receive Sangeet Peeth honour. She was also
awarded the National Award in the years 1976, 1980 and 1992.

DR. SUKAMA ACHARYA

CULTURE AND SPIRITUALITY ARE
EQUALLY IMPORTANT AS EDUCATION

r. Sukama Acharya of Vishwawara Kanya Gurukul at Roorkee village in Rohtak,
DHaryana will be given Padma Shri. Dr. Sukama has made an important contribution
to women's empowerment and education. She has been working for Vedic culture for
more than 34 years. She is engaged in imparting value-based education to the girls
in Gurukul. She believes along with education, it is very important to have cultural
knowledge and spirituality. In this Gurukul, more than 800 girls from over 10 states of
India are being educated and there are more than 45 women teachers. She has also
been honoured with the Sanskriti Seva Samman.

24 New India Samachar March 1-15, 2023