Lokmat gives away Maharashtrian of the Year Awards

Maharashtra CM felicitates Aamir Khan and other unsung heroes with the 1st edition of the awards.

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | March 29, 2011

Several Maharashtra icons like actor-film maker Aamir Khan and doctor couple Smita and Ravindra Kolhe, who have carved a niche for themselves braving daunting circumstances and contributed to the progress of the State with their rare work, were felicitated with the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Awards.

Smita and Ravindra Kolhe, who devoted their lives for providing health services to tribals in remote Melghat region of Vidarbha region, presented with the award in the category Public Service-Social Service.

In the 1st edition of the awards, aimed at providing inspiration to Maharashtrians, a galaxy of those who contributed to the society in their own way were given the honours and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan presented the awards recently.

“The winners selected by Lokmat would prove to be role models for the future generations of Maharashtra,” Chavan remarked.

In an emotional acceptance speech Dr. Ravindra Kolhe remarked that “I have grown up reading Lokmat and never in my life imagined that my favourite newspaper would recognize the work being done by me and my wife in a remote area. It is a great honour.”

Among the other awardees were Kalpana Joshi who has patented a medicine for treatment of cancer in the category Science-Technology and Sanjay Gaikwad who has revolutionised distribution of Bollywood films in the category Business.

Kalpana Raut, a tribal girl, who is also known as the “Sawarpada Express”, won the award in Sports category. This award was given by the Union Minister for Sports, Ajay Maken who said that “Maharashtra has good sports infrastructure, best sportspersons and hence the route to the Olympic gold goes through Maharashtra.

He remarked that Maharashtra had outstanding sportspersons with a rare killer instinct, which is necessary to win a game.

Sculptor Bhagwan Rampure, best known for his creation of the 'Bull' at BSE and of Mirza Ghalib in Delhi, won the award in the category Art.

Aamir Khan who has time and again proved his talent and versatility in not only acting, but film direction and production was honoured in the category Entertainment. Aamir received this award via video link and thanked Lokmat, speaking in Marathi.

Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil, who enjoys a clean image as a politician and is an inspiration to many rural youth, was named Maharashtrain of the Year in the category of politics. In his acceptance speech, he emphasised the need to promote value-based politics in the country. For this, he said, people with clean image should join politics.

The award event was the culmination of a 2 month-long process that led to the creation of a transparent, inclusive and democratic award that rises above conventional definitions like birth place, language, culture and community, and stands out as an appreciation of those people who have made Maharashtra prouder, richer and even better through their contribution to the society.

In the process of compiling a list of nominees, Lokmat used its formidable presence and network that gives it access to the farthest corners of the state. The list was drawn from the fields of Public and Social Service, Science and Technology, Politics, Business, Art, Sports and Entertainment. A senior editorial team short-listed the nominees with 5 in each category which was put up for public voting via SMS and Facebook.

While announcing this Award, the Chairman of Lokmat Media Limited and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda remarked that “Selecting seven personalities who are symbols of Maharashtra's pride and who contributed in this process of development will be a historic event in the state. Each and every person believing in the pride of Maharashtra should participate in this process.”  The voting process witnessed a huge response from across the country.

The final selection saw a thorough scrutiny and debate among a jury comprising Justice (retd.) B.N. Deshmukh, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Lila Poonawalla, Anna Hazare, Rajdeep Sardesai, Gulzar and Dilip Vengsarkar who had a tough task of  choosing the 'First among equals'.

Speaking after the ceremony, Rishi Darda, Jt Managing Director and Editorial Director, Lokmat, said, “Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year is not just an award. It is an acknowledgement of people whose work is contributing to Maharashtra's progress. It is also a forum where many of these unseen and unsung heroes and their work comes into spotlight and serves as an inspiration for all of us.”

The Awards go to reaffirm that Maharashtra soil nurtures leadership of thought and action in its own way.

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