Ricky Kej on Padma Shri: Getting Padma Award was a dream, though I never applied for it; it's a validation of my career
Three-time Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej talks about receiving the Padma Shri and how that would help him fulfil his purpose as a musician in a better way.
Three-time Grammy Award-winning musician Ricky Kej is on cloud nine. Reason? He's now Padma Shri Ricky Kej! After receiving the state honour, Kej tells us that it's been like a dream come true. “The most prestigious awards that I had won before this were the three Grammys. But they were for my individual songs that revolved around social and environmental causes. The Padma Award is a validation of my career. I’ve made some very hard choices by not giving in and doing commercial work for films etc.. I have always associated with a certain kind of projects that aim at spreading awareness about society and environmental causes. And this honour will only help me reach a wider audience," says the musician, who earned his fourth Grammy nom in the Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album category for his album Break of Dawn.
He adds that the Padma Award comes as an added responsibility. "The honour will act like an impetus for me to do better work and to keep rooting for the social and environmental causes that I make my music for. I cannot thank the government enough for recognising my efforts," he says.
The Central government on Saturday announced the recipients of the coveted Padma Awards. Several notable personalities who have excelled in their fields are among the Padma awardees. A total of 139 Padma Awardees have been announced, with one duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one), out of which, 7 are Padma Vibhushan awardees, 19 Padma Bhushan awardees and 113 Padma Shri awardees. Across all the categories, 13 people are posthumous awardees. MT Vasudevan Nair has been awarded Padma Vibhushan in literature and education. He died aged 91 on December 25, 2024. He was a Malayalam literary icon and his book Naalukettu is considered a classic. Sharda Sinha was a legendary folk singer from Bihar who died on November 5, 2024 aged 72. She was known for her iconic Chhatth songs and has been awarded Padma Vibhushan. Pankaj Udhas was a legendary ghazal and playback singer. He died on February 26, 2024 aged 72. He has been awarded Padma Vibhushan.
