India, Jan. 26 -- A folk artist, an educationist, a Santhali music composer, and a weaver, who wove the Geet Govinda in Odia script on a 52-metre silk scroll, from Odisha, are among 54 nominees for the country's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri.

Simanchal Patro (Ganjam), Mahendra Mishra (Bhubaneswar), and Charan Hembram (Mayurbhanj) were chosen for their contributions to folk theatre, tribal education, and Santhali tribal culture. Sarat Kumar Patra, the fourth awardee from Odisha, who wove the Geet Govinda with illustrations over seven years, has been credited for keeping an ancient craft alive in the handloom cluster of Maniabandh Nuapatna in the Cuttack district for 60 years.

Born into a traditional weaver family in Tigiria, ...