Padma Awards for Yesudas, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Kailash Kher (ROUNDUP)

New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) Veteran classical and playback singer K.J. Yesudas was on Wednesday named for the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour, while Grammy-winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt was named for the Padma Bhushan.
Popular singers Kailash Kher and Anuradha Paudwal are among this year’s Padma Shri awardees.

Moment of pride, celebration: Kailash Kher on Padma Shri honour

Singer Kailash Kher, who shot to fame with the 2003 hit number “Allah ke bande”, was thrilled to be named for the Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian award — on Wednesday. He says it’s a moment of pride and celebration.
He has received the recognition for his contribution to music in the country.
“By the grace of God, I got this honour. It’s a moment for pride and celebration. It’s because of a lot of prayers and hard work along with blessing from my parents and gurus, and love from fans,” Kailash told IANS.
How does he plan to celebrate?
“I am really caught up with work. Let me figure it out. I am just coming to my sense. I was in the studio recording a jingle for a digital campaign when I was informed about this honour,” he said.
The singer, who hails from Meerut, gave up education decades ago to pursue his dream to be a singer. Known for adding a sufi touch to songs, Kailash has even crooned tracks like “Teri deewani”, “Ya rabba” and “Yun hi chala chal”.
Kailash is also a producer. He had worked on a mythological TV series “Baba Kedarnath”, backed by the Uttarakhand government.
A patriot at heart, he feels artistes must project India in the right way.
In an interview with IANS, he had said: “There are filmmakers like Shyam Benegal who continue to explore the real Indian art. Even Ashutosh Gowariker makes films about India like ‘Swades’ or ‘Lagaan’. They are some of the filmmakers who present India in a good light; otherwise people tend to make money by showing poverty of India and helplessness of India mostly in the name of creativity.
“This gives the impression that India is a poor country. Irrespective of the strength of the script, I will never show India like that. I will show that India can save the world, which is infected by depression and loneliness.”
Earlier this year, he launched and mentored two indie bands SurFira and Indie Routes.
“Since I’ve reached that level where I can do something for others too, I thought of promoting new talent… something that hasn’t been done in the past by other musicians,” he said.

Padma Vibhushan great honour for dad’s continuous effort: Vijay Yesudas

The Padma Vibhushan honour for veteran classical and playback singer KJ Yesudas is a testament to his continuous efforts in a career spanning over five decades, says his son and actor-singer Vijay Yesudas.
“It’s a proud moment for all of us and a great honour for my dad. At 77, he’s still working hard and this award is for his continuous effort,” a jubilant Vijay Yesudas told IANS after India’s second highest civilian award was announced for his father.
The seven times National Award-winning singer has thousands of songs to his credit across various languages.
Vijay considers himself a “blessed son”.
“As a father, he has always made us look up to him. Even today, he wakes up at 5 a.m. and practices. It’s this effort that is paying off now. I still admire him and watch him in awe,” he said.
Asked if any special celebration is being planned in the family to ring in the joyous moment, Vijay said it’s not something that his father believes in.
“Awards are nothing in comparison to what he has achieved. He definitely acknowledges them and uses them as an incentive to keep moving forward. He also doesn’t celebrate because it keeps him humble and grounded. I have also followed the same philosophy,” he said.
Yesudas’s musical journey began in 1961 with the Malayalam song “Jaathi bhedam matha dwesham”.
His first film song was “Attention penne attention” from the 1962 Malayalam movie “Kaalpadukai”.
In the 1970s, he forayed into Bollywood with 1976 Amol Palekar starrer “Chhoti Si Baat”. Yesudas was introduced to Hindi cinema by late composer Ravindra Jain.
Apart from Malayalam and Hindi, he has also sung in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada among other languages.
He had received the Padma Shri honour in 1975 and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.

Happy to get Padma Shri now: Sanjeev Kapoor

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who was on Wednesday named for the Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian honour — says he has no regrets that he wasn’t considered for it earlier in his over three decade-long journey in the hospitality industry. Now that he has got it, he will simply enjoy the moment.
Kapoor, who will be conferred with the honour for his contribution in the culinary section, told IANS: “I am very happy that I am getting it now.
“When you do something or start something, you want to get a reward or recognition as early as possible. But the way your mind thinks, that may not be always right. You don’t know everything and the way the world works.
“When you get it, it’s the right time and the best time. I have never regretted that I have never got it before. Now I’ve got it so, I will enjoy it.”
A popular name in Indian households, thanks to his TV show “Khana Khazana”, Kapoor owns a chain of restaurants, Yellow Chilli, and even launched his own channel Food Food in 2011.
He has received many awards, including the Mercury Gold Award in Geneva, Switzerland.
Kapoor says he wants to prepare a special meal for all the recipients of the awards, which will be conferred on the winners later this year at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“I want to offer my specialties to all the people who are getting this recognition. I want to prepare a special meal for them. I will seriously propose that,” he said.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Abu Dhabi in August, 2015, Kapoor was flown in especially to prepare a meal for the vegetarian prime minister.