Press Release
The prestigious Annual Award Ceremony was held on 22 October 2017 at the Pritam Niwas Courtyard of the City Palace on the occasion of the birthday celebrations of Brig. Late H.H. Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh, MVC of Jaipur. Each year the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust gives away awards in as many as 23 categories. The categories have a wide range from service to mankind to preservation of heritage; from medical science to excellence in traditional crafts, among others. The awards consist of Rs. 31,000 cash, shawl, a replica of the silver urn placed at the Sarvatobhadra Chowk of the City Palace, citation and a shrifal.
The programme began with the arrival of Rajmata Padmini Devi and the ‘Dharamgurus’ on the stage. The photograph of Shri Govind Dev Ji was then garlanded and the lighting of the lamp was done. Later, the late Maharaja’s photograph was also garlanded by her. Rajmata also made offerings to the ‘Dharamgurus’ and received their blessings. Then began the award ceremony.
The awards given on the occasion were: Raja Dulha Rai Award for social services (Disha – A resource centre for multiple disabilities); Raja Kakil Dev Award for Excellence in Architecture and Preservation of Heritage (Er. Pradeep Kumar Jain (Rtd. Ex. Engineer ADMA)); Raja Pajjwan Dev Award for Excellence in the field of Medicine (Vaidya Banwari Lal Gaur (Rtd. Vice Chancellor, Ayurveda University, Jodhpur)); Raja Bhagwant Das Award for Excellence in Traditional Crafts (Haji Badshah Miyan – (Tie & Dye)); Raja Mansingh I Award for Bravery (Lance Naik Naresh Singh Rajput); Mirza Raja Jai Singh I Award for distinguished service in the armed forces (Lt. Gen. Saranjeet Singh, YSM); Mirza Raja Ram Singh Award for Excellence in Ecological Balance and Improvement in Environment (Sristhi Foundation); Maharaja Vishan Singh Award for Excellence in Travel, Tourism and Museum Development (Dr. Arun Sharma); Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II Award for Excellence in the field of Astronomy (Pt. Punit Sharma, Astronomer); Maharaja Sawai Ishwari Singh Award for Excellence in the field of Journalism (Mr. Sharat Kumar, Journalist Aaj Tak Rajasthan); Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I Award for Excellence in the field of Administrative Services (Dr. Mahendra Khargawat, Director, State Archives, Bikaner); Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh Award for Excellence in the field of History, Literature and Education (Mr. Subroto Mondal, Head, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Rajasthan); Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh Award for Excellence in Painting and Sculpture (Mr. Govind Ramdev and Ramu Ramdev); Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II Award for Excellence in the field of Photography (Dr. Tabeenah Anjum Qureshi, Freelance Photographer) and Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II Award for Excellence in the field of T.V., Films and Theatre (Ms. Rama Pandey, Theatre Artist).
Furthermore, other awards were given in the category of Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Award for Excellence in the field of Sports (Mr. Sunder Singh Gurjar – Gold Medalist in Para World Athletic Championship); Maharani Marudhar Kanwar Award for Trust Employee (Mr. Ranjit Singh, Chowkidar); Maharani Kishor Kanwar Award for excellence in Performing Arts (Ustab Mohd. Hussain & Ahmed Hussain – Gazal Singer); Rajmata Gayatri Devi Award for Women’s Excellence (Mrs. Ranju Jain – Prem Mandir Sansthan); Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Award for Excellence in the field of Business and Industry (Mr. Suresh Dhaddha, Gem Plaza); Rajmata Padmini Devi Award for excellence in disciplined services (Mrs. Bhawana, Mr. Mahendra Singh and Mr. Bhawani Singh); Princess Diya Kumari Award for achiever in any field (Ms. Shatabdi Avasthi) and Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh Award for young achiever in any field (Ms. Maheshwari Chauhan).