President
Ramnath Kovind on Monday conferred the
prestigious Padma Awards on 43 persons who’ve made extraordinary contribution
in their fields in the service of society, at a function at the presidential
palace in New Delhi. Goa’s very own Shri Laxman Pai was awarded the Padma
Bhushan in the field of Art (Painting).
Pai, along with cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, billiards
champion Pankaj Advani, singer Sharda Sinha were given the Padma Bhushan.
Former Russian Envoy to India, late Alexander Kadakin was given the Padma
Bhusan posthumously.
The nation’s third-highest civilian award is another feather in
the cap of Pai’s glittering career. He is the recipient of three Lalit Kala
National Awards (1961, 1963 and 1972) and was awarded the prestigious Padma
Shri by the Central government in 1985. He was honoured by State government in
1987 and also awarded the Nehru award in 1995. Pai was also the recipient of
Goa’s highest civilian award Gomant Vibhushan Award (2016).
He has more than one
hundred solo exhibitions to his credit, including nine in Paris, where he
worked for ten years (1951-61). His other exhibitions have been held in London,
Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, New York, San Francisco, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur,
Singapore, New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Goa. Laxman Pai also participated in
Bribable San Paulo, Brazil.
His
paintings are in various private and public collections, including, Museum of
Modern art (Paris), New York Public Library, Berlin Museum, Ben & Abbey
Grey Foundation (Los Angeles) and National Gallery of Modern Art, India.
