MUMBAI: The government of India announced the prestigious list of the Padma Awardees on the eve of the country’s Republic Day with some renowned classical music exponents being conferred with the honour this year. While no Padma Vibhushan in music this year, noted playback singer in the South Sreeramamurthy Janaki has refused to accept the honour on various grounds.

The singer, who is stated to be bestowed with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, said that few people from south India seemed to figure in the awards list and it has come too late in her 55-year-long career. Reports also suggested that she rejected the award as she felt she deserves Bharath Ratna. However, she maintained that she had no complaint against the government.

She told reporters, “I refuse the Padma award. I have been singing for the last 55 years. I consider the recognition of my fans in various languages as the highest award. These awards don't mean anything to me. After so many years, they now give me Padma Bhushan.”

Talking to an agency, her son Murali Krishna said, “It has come too late. She should have got it long long time ago. She has refused to accept the award with due respect.”

However, 75-year old Janaki, has over 20,000 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi to her credit. She has previously won four national awards, and was chosen in the art category among the 24 Padma Bhushan awardees in different fields.

On the other hand, renowned Hindustani vocalist Abdul Rashid Khan aged 105, was the only other person in music to be conferred with the Padma Bhushan award. A vocalist from West Bengal, Khan excels in khayal, dhrupad, dhamar and thumri. Also a poet, Khan has written around 2000 compositions under the pseudonym ‘Rasan Piya’.

Currently confined to a wheelchair, he has lost the ability to walk and his hands have become distorted with age, but still manage to regale audiences with his powerful singing.

Amongst the other winners announced in music, seven regional classical musicians were listed to receive the Padma Shri.

The list includes Swami GCD Bharti alias Bharati Bandhu (Sufi singer) Chhattisgarh, Jaymala Shiledar (Marathi singer) Maharashtra, Suresh Dattatray Talwalkar (table maestro) Maharashtra, Hilda Mit Lepcha (folk musician) Sikkim, Sudha Malhotra (playback singer) Maharashtra, Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz (Kashmiri Sufiyana vocalist) Jammu and Kashmir and Puran Das Baul (Indian musician and singer) West Bengal.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan around March-April every year. This year the President of India will  confer Padma Awards to 108 persons. The list comprises of 4 Padma Vibhushan, 24 Padma Bhushan and 80 Padma Shri Awardees.  24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and Posthumous awardees.

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service and more. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, while Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.