Padma awardees

The strict protocol of Rashtrapati Bhavan could not curb the motherly instincts of 106-year-old Saalumarada Thimmakka, who was awarded Padma Shri for planting thousands of trees in Karnataka, as she blessed President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.

Thimmakka has earned the sobriquet of ‘Vriksha Mathe (Mother of Trees)’ for planting 8,000 trees, including over 400 banyan trees. As the President, 33 years younger to Thimmakka, asked her to face the camera, the centenarian touched his forehead to bless him.  

Comeback man

S Nambi Narayanan: The scientist figured in the 1994 ISRO spy case after he along with a top ISRO official, two Maldivian women and a businessman was arrested for espionage. In 1995, the CBI cleared his name and the SC last year awarded Rs 50 lakh in compensation for his travails

HS Phoolka: The senior advocate and human rights activist who fought a long legal battle for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims

Manoj Bajpayee: The actor who is known for his portrayal of unconventional and critically acclaimed roles on-screen

Mahashay Dharampal Gulati: MDH owner and the highest earning CEO in the FMCG sector who became the icon in the food processing industry

Friederike Irina: A social worker from Germany who contributed towards the welfare of cows and calves in Mathura