Meet the Padma awardees from Tamilnadu

He definitely needs no introduction. The 65-year old actor has been an iconic figure in the world of cinema and has performed a gamut of roles in Indian cinema. Superstar or Thalaiva , as he is fondly called, has been entertaining his audience for the last 40 years. Twitter broke into a frenzy once the awards were announced on Monday and congratulatory messages have been pouring in from far and wide. The actor took to Twitter to express his gratitude and posted, “Feeling deeply honoured for being awarded the Padma Vibhushan. My heartfelt thanks to my dear fans, well-wishers & friends for all the wishes (sic ).”

 Dr. V Shanta has been at the forefront of finding affordable cancer care in India for over six decades now. At the age of 88, she is running one of the most prominent cancer hospitals in the country, Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai. She was inspired by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first woman medical graduate in the country. Winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 2005, she has already been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006; the veteran doctor has now been awarded the Padma Vibhushan. She expressed her happiness over receiving the prestigious award and said it was a recognition for the hard work being carried out at the institute.

Arunachalam Muruganantham, popularly known as the ‘Menstrual Man’ is a social entrepreneur from Coimbatore. The 54-year-old is the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad making machine and has innovated grass-roots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India. On receiving the Padma Shri award, Arunachalam said he was happy but he needs to ensure that he continues the good work. “I am here to create a social change by empowering women. I hope to inspire youngsters to take up social entrepreneurship,’ he said.

DK Srinivasan is the Founder Secretary of the Hindu Mission Hospital, Tambaram and has been involved in social work for last three decades. His hospital serves thousands of poor people from the city. The octogenarian has been recognised for his contribution to the health care of rural poor and urban slum dwellers. He has said the recognition in the field of medicine is attributed to teamwork. He decided to move to social work to improve the lives of the lessfortunate in society. Srinivasan also encouraged doctors to volunteer and serve the community.

Dr. TS Chandrasekar is the Founder of MedIndia Hospital in Chennai and Coimbatore. He was awarded for his medico-social work in the field of gastroenterology. He said he was extremely happy and felt honoured to receive the Padma Shri award. Dr. Chandrasekar, has several firsts to his credit, including the Braille chart on hygiene that he created last year.