5 Gujaratis Honored with Padma Shri: Meet the Distinguished Recipients

• Five individuals from Gujarat—Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala, Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya, Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai, Arvind Vaidya, and Ratilal Mohanlal Borisagar—are among the 45 recipients of the Padma Shri award for 2026.
• Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai, known as 'Haju Ramakdu', is recognized for his contributions to art, particularly dholak playing, bhajans, ghazals, and qawwalis, with over 3,000 performances.
• Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya from Vadodara is honored for promoting 'Akhyan' and 'Manbhatt' music globally, having performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala from Surat, founder of 'Donate Life', receives the award for pioneering organ donation in Gujarat, facilitating over 1,300 donations since 2006.
• Arvind Vaidya, known as Bapuji in 'Anupama' and a veteran Gujarati theater artist, is recognized for his 40-year career spanning over 130 Gujarati plays, Marathi, and Hindi productions; Ratilal Mohanlal Borisagar is a renowned Gujarati humorist and essayist.

Why It Matters: Five distinguished Gujaratis are set to receive the Padma Shri for their exceptional contributions to various fields.