Carrying forward its glorious tradition of honouring the service of permanent value rendered to society, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) concluded the Maharana Mewar Foundation 37th Annual Awards (MMFAA) at The City Palace, Udaipur. Starting with the presentation of certificates to students, the ceremony was followed by the ritual when the awardees received awards from Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Chief Guest of the Ceremony and Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur. Instituted in the year 1980-81 by Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar, the Maharana Mewar Foundation Annual Awards are one of the oldest award schemes in the country to be instituted by a non-profit organisation. It was conceptualised to honour college and school students of Udaipur who had excelled in their studies and gradually broadened the spectrum to felicitate international scholars, scientists, academicians, musicians/performers, social activists, environmentalists and people who have broken the mould and provided inspiration to the world around them. The Awardees are selected because they are role models in our society, and credible icons for youngsters,” said Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, Chairman and Managing Trustee of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation. “Recognition from society adds more vigour and direction in the life of an achiever, however modest or celebrated he/she may be. The task of nation-building is incomplete without such achievers being acknowledged for their contribution to society. This contribution, please note, is of permanent nature. It lasts for generations. It provides a distinct identity to the Awardee and gives Foundations like ours a sense of immense accomplishment.”
These awards are annually organised by Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) which is committed to nurturing centres of excellence in heritage management, fine arts, the performing arts, education, ecological management, philanthropy, spirituality and sports. Unique in having conceived and actualised the practices of ‘livingheritage’,the MMCF is sharing ancient legacies through broad-based and sustainable platforms of development within Rajasthan, in India and through global outreach programmes. “Inspiration is the key word,”explained Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar,”when my respected father, His late Highness Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar was establishing the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation in 1969, he wanted it to serve as a temple of inspiration for future generations. He firmly believed that a nation could not be built without real-life inspiring role models. Character-building goes hand in hand with nation-building.” Each of the Awards commemorates an iconic personality or name associated with the rich and glorious history of Mewar stretching back to 1400 years. Some of the notable awardees in the past years included writers-poets, performers and visionaries like Prof. Sir Angus Deaton, Prof. A P J Abdul Kalam, Dr. E. Shreedharan, Sunil Dutt, R.K. Laxman, Dr. Rahi Massom Raza, Lata Mangeshkar, PT Usha and Harivansh Rai Bachchan, etc. To name a few among many others, this year, Colonel James Tod Award was presented to Dr. Paul T. Craddock while Swati Chaturvedi won Haldighati Award. Geeta Seshamani and Kartick Satyanarayan were bestowed upon Maharana Udai Singh Awards. Dagar Gharana Award for this year went to Ustad Mohi Bahauddin Dagar and Suresh Wadekar won Hakim Khan Sur Award.
