Heroes in Art (page 4)

Harchandan Singh Bhatti

A painter and designer who created Bhopal's celebrated Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Madhya Pradesh

Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay

A Balurghat theatre director who founded Triteertha and directed over 60 plays, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026 (posthumous)
West Bengal

Haricharan Saikia

A Sattriya dancer trained at Majuli's Kamalabari Sattra, still teaching in his late nineties, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Assam

Hassan Raghu

A former soldier and stunt director who has trained thousands of stunt artists and championed India's folk martial arts, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Karnataka

Hem Chandra Goswami

A Majuli artist who makes the bamboo masks of Assam's sattras, some now in the British Museum, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Assam

Hemant Chauhan

A Gujarati bhajan and folk singer who sings to the ektara and has recorded over 8,200 songs, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Gujarat

Hemoprova Chutia

A Dibrugarh weaver who has woven entire holy books, including the Bhagavad Gita, into long lengths of silk cloth, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Assam

Jagdish Trivedi

A Gujarati humourist and author who pledged all his income from comedy shows to schools and health care, giving crores, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Mann Ki Baat #108
Gujarat

Janki Lal Bhand

A Bhilwara bahurupiya, or impersonation artist, who has kept dozens of traditional characters alive, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Rajasthan

Jaspinder Narula

A playback singer known for "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha", trained in classical music and with a PhD in Hindustani music, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Maharashtra

Jatin Goswami

The senior guru of Sattriya, Assam's classical dance, and founder of the Sattriya Akademi in Guwahati, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.

Padma Bhushan 2025
Assam

Jodhaiya Bai Baiga

A Baiga tribal painter from Umaria who took up the brush late in life, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023. She died in 2024.

Padma Shri 2023
Madhya Pradesh

Jorden Lepcha

A Sikkim bamboo craftsman who revived the weaving of traditional Lepcha hats and trains others free, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Sikkim

Joynacharan Bathari

A Dima Hasao folk singer who has spent his life bringing Dimasa songs and instruments to wider audiences, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Assam

Jyotish Debnath

A Kalna weaver of fine muslin and jamdani saris who has revived old techniques and trained many women weavers, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
West Bengal

K C Runremsangi

A Mizo folk singer and dance teacher who has recorded eight albums of traditional songs, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Mizoram

K C Sivasankar

The Chandamama artist behind the Vikram and Vetal drawing, who illustrated the magazine for six decades, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2021.

Padma Shri 2021 (posthumous)
Tamil Nadu

K K Ramachandra Pulavar

An 11th-generation master of Kerala's tholpavakoothu shadow puppetry who has performed in about 42 countries, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.

Padma Shri 2021
Kerala

K Kalyanasundaram Pillai

A Bharatanatyam guru from a Thanjavur family of dance masters who has taught for over seventy years, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.

Padma Shri 2023
Tamil Nadu

K Kesavasamy

A Karaikal puppeteer who has staged more than 2,000 string puppet shows over 40 years and trains students free of cost, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.

Padma Shri 2021
Puducherry

K. Omanakutty Amma

A Carnatic vocalist and teacher of 70 years who founded Kerala University's music department and taught K.S. Chithra, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.

Padma Shri 2025
Kerala

Kaajee Singh

A Kalimpong musician who devised a notation system for the madal drum and wrote six books on it, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022. He died in 2025.

Padma Shri 2022
West Bengal

Kalamandalam Vimala Menon

A Mohiniyattam dancer and teacher who shaped the modern style of the dance and has trained over 10,000 students, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.

Padma Shri 2026
Kerala

Kaluram Bamaniya

A Kabir bhajan singer from Dewas who rose from farm labour to perform across India in the Malwi tradition, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

Padma Shri 2024
Madhya Pradesh