Padma Awards 2025: 'Bihar Kokila' Sharda Sinha Awarded Padma Vibhushan Posthumously

Padma Awards 2025: On the eve of the 76th Republic Day , the Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, were conferred in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service and more. This year, the President approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. Folk singer Sharda Sinha was awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously. From the field of art, South actors Ajith Kumar and Nandamuri Balakrishna and Bollywood director Shekhar Kapur of Masoom and Mr India fame received the Padma Bhushan. Singer Arijit Singh was bestowed with the Padma Shri honour.

Sharda Sinha's son's wish fulfilled

After her demise on November 5 last year, Sharda Sinha's son Anshuman had expressed his wish for his late mother to be considered posthumously for the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour in the country. The wish has been fulfilled. Known for her devotional songs, which reverberated in the air during the festival of Chhath and filled the mood with festive joy, Sinha is considered a pivotal figure in Indian folk music. She received the Padma Shri in 1991 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2018.

Supaul-born Sinha was famous in her native state and parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh courtesy her folk songs sung on occasions like Chhath Puja and weddings. Some of her popular tracks are Chhathi Maiya Aayi Na Duaariya, Dwar Chekai, Patna Se and Koyal Bin. She went on to obtain a doctorate in music from the Lalit Narayan Mithila University at Darbhanga while making her mark as a folk singer.

Significance of the Padma Awards

Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year.