Nagpur: “Bharat is the land of Vigyan. Our history dates back to thousands of years and our Rishis were the inventors of many theories that modern science recognises today,” opined Swami Jitendranath Maharaj, Founder of Vishwa Mangalya Sabha. He was speaking at the Saptarishi Puraskar distribution ceremony at Kavikulguru Kalidas Auditorium, Persistent Systems, in Nagpur on Sunday afternoon.
Padma Vibhushan Dr E Sreedharan, also known as Metro Man, was honoured with Vishwakarma Award; Padma Vibhushan Dr K Kasturirangan, former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was honoured with Acharya Bharadwaj Award; Padma Vibhushan Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, was honoured with Acharya Kanad Award; Padma Bhushan Dr Vijay Bhatkar, Father of Super Computer was honoured with Aryabhatta Award; Padma Shri Dr Ganpati Yadav, Wizard of Chemical Sciences was honoured with Nagarjun Award; Dr Anmol Sonwane, authority on TAVER/TAVI heart surgery, was honoured with Acharya Sushrut Award; and Sudhakar Gaidhani, author of Devdoot, was honoured with the Maharshi Valmiki Award.
The award ceremony was organised by Hindu Research Foundation in association with Vishwa Mangalya Sabha and Maitree Pariwar Sanstha. Present on the occasion were Hansraj Ahir, Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes; Prof Madhusudhan Penna, Former Vice-Chancellor of Kavi Kulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University; Ruchika Jain, President of Vishwa Mangalya Sabha, Preeti Ramkrishnan, Vice-President; Pramod Pendke of Maitree Pariwar, Dr T S Bhal of Hindu Research Foundation and Prashant Hartalkar.
Speaking further, Swami Jitendranath Maharaj stated that Science or Vigyan have its origins from ancient Bharat. There will be a time, Indian scientists and their knowledge will be acknowledged and welcomed the world over. The only purpose of science is to push individual growth that drives national progress. Individuals who have done commendable work in their respective fields were honoured with the prestigious awards, named in honour of ancient sages who contributed to science, literature, medicine and technology.
Dr Bhal, in his inaugural address, stated that 80 percent of our country’s population is Hindu. But it is very unfortunate that the so-called pseudo intellectuals find shortcomings in our culture and ignore Hindu religion in the name of secularism. While sharing his views, Hansraj Ahir termed India as a rich nation calling Rishis as our real treasures.
Prof Madhusudha Penna, in his address, stated that individuals have eyes but no vision and therefore they live ordinary lives. The men we are honouring today have made an extraordinary impression because they had a vision in their lives. Our Maharishis of ancient times also had the vision and therefore they envisioned various inventions. Introspection on an individual level is important, so that more maharishis are produced.
Brothers Anay and Abeer Ramakrishnan, both 9 years old, were felicitated for producing AI (Artificial Intelligence) based videos of Maharishis. The programme was conducted by Anita Tilwe while Harsh Deshmukh proposed a vote of thanks on the occasion. Office-bearers of Engineers Forum, Nagpur; Indian Medical Association, Nagpur; and Matru Kalyan Seva Sanstha made efforts for the success of the programme.