New Delhi/Patna: Three distinguished personalities from Bihar have been honoured with the Padma Shri for their contributions to the fields of art, culture and science.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Padma Shri on veteran Bhojpuri folk singer Bharat Singh Bharti and posthumously honoured folk dance artist Vishwa Bandhu and Gopal Ji Trivedi for their contributions in the fields of art and science.
Vishwa Bandhu Remembered as Pioneer of Bihar Folk Dance
A resident of Daudpur in Danapur, Vishwa Bandhu was widely regarded as one of the foremost pillars of Bihar’s folk dance tradition.
He received training in dance under renowned gurus Uday Shankar and Pandit Ram Jiwan Prasad, developing expertise in both folk and classical traditions.
His disciple, Jitendra Kumar, described him as a pioneering advocate of folk dance and among Bihar’s most distinguished cultural figures.
As a dancer, choreographer, mentor and institution-builder, Vishwa Bandhu devoted his life to the preservation, revival and creative reinterpretation of Indian dance traditions.
On Monday, the late artist’s wife, Indu Devi, received the Padma Shri from the President on his behalf.
Founded ‘Surangan’ to Promote Folk Arts
In 1959, Vishwa Bandhu established the cultural organisation “Surangan” to promote and preserve folk dance traditions.
Born on November 23, 1930, he remained deeply engaged with folk dance from an early age and later travelled extensively across rural Bihar to document, promote and enrich traditional dance forms.
Through Surangan, he presented more than 6,000 cultural performances in India and abroad.
One of his most noted productions was the dance-drama Ye Bharat Ke Gaon, staged during the 1962 Congress session on the theme of rural development. The performance reportedly earned praise from then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
During the period of the Chinese aggression, he also staged E Hamar Himalaya across the country to raise public awareness and patriotic sentiment.
Lifelong Commitment to Training Young Artists
Vishwa Bandhu continued to train younger generations in dance and music free of cost throughout his life.
He directed several dance-dramas through the Patna chapter of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), contributing significantly to Bihar’s cultural landscape.
For his contributions, he received numerous honours at the state, national and international levels, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012 and the Bihar government’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
He was also recognised among the “100 Gems” of Bihar’s art and culture.
Vishwa Bandhu died on March 30, 2025.
