Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. As a music composer he collaborated with Indian flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia under the collaborative name Shiv–Hari and composed music for many Indian films including Faasle (1985), Chandni (1989), and Lamhe (1991).
Bansi Kaul was an Indian theatre director and the founder of Rang Vidushak, a theatre group in Bhopal. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 2014, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995. Some of his notable plays included Aala Afsar, Kahan Kabir, and Sidhi Dar Sidhi urf Tukke pe Tukka. He was a designer and associate show director for the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and also the art director for the 1986 and 1987 Khajuraho Festival.
Nautanki is one of the most popular folk performance forms of South Asia, particularly in northern India. Before the advent of Bollywood, Nautanki was the biggest entertainment medium in the villages and towns of northern India. Nautanki's rich musical compositions and humorous, entertaining storylines hold a strong influence over rural people's imagination. Even after the spread of mass media, a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 can be seen at the top Nautanki performances. Nautanki's origins lie in the Saangit, Bhagat, and Swang musical theatre traditions of Northern India. One Saangit called Saangit Rani Nautanki Ka became so popular that the whole genre's name became Nautanki. Nautanki is most fomus in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana,
Narendra Singh Negi, also referred as "Garh ratan" is one of the most prominent folk singers, composer and a poet of the Garhwal and Uttarakhand. His unparalleled work in the field of folk music of Uttarakhand is an inspiration for all the upcoming singers of Uttarakhand.
Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the mridangam. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Pandit Shivnath Mishra is an Indian sitarist. He is an exponent of the Benares Gharana school of Indian classical music. He was formerly a lecturer and the Head of the Music Department at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.
Dr. Yogesh Praveen was an Indian author and expert on the history and culture of Avadh, specifically Lucknow. He had a Masters in Hindi and Sanskrit in addition to a doctorate in Literature from Meerut University.
Sumati Mutatkar was an Indian classical music vocalist and musicologist from the Agra gharana of Hindustani classical music, and a Professor of Department of Music in University of Delhi.
Shanno Khurana is a noted Indian classical vocalist and composer, from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of Hindustani classical music. A disciple of the doyen of the gharana, Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, she is known for performing rare bandish and raag, though her singing style includes genres like khayal, tarana, thumri, dadra, tappa, to chaiti and bhajan. Born and brought up in Jodhpur, she started singing on All India Radio in 1945 in Lahore, later shifted to Delhi, where she continued her singing on All India Radio, Delhi and in concerts and music festivals. She also pursued music education, finally earning her M.Phil. and PhD in music from the Kairagarh University, and has undertakes extensive research on folk music of Rajasthan.
Darshan Lal Jain was an Indian social activist, who was awarded Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2019 for his contribution in social work. He was known for educating young girls and financially troubled children.
Hiralal Yadav was an Indian folk singer, who was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2019. He was awarded the Yash Bharti Award in 2015.
Sundaram Verma is an Indian environmentalist. He was awarded Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award in 2020, for developing the agricultural technique called ‘dryland agroforestry' which was developed to help tree plantation efforts in arid regions of India.
Usha Chaumar is a social worker from Alwar, Rajasthan, India. She is the President of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, the non-profit arm of Sulabh International. In 2020, she received the Padma Shri honour from the Government of India for her contribution in the field of social work, particularly in raising awareness against manual scavenging.
Surender Sharma is an Indian poet, writer and humorist. He often writes and performs comic sketches of himself and his wife and known for his refrain chaar lainaa suna raha hoon in Haryanavi dialect. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2013, with the award of Padma Shri for his contributions to the field of literature.
Ramchandra Manjhi is an Indian Bhojpuri folk dancer and theatre artist who is famous as a Launda Naach performer. He was one of the members of Bhikhari Thakur's drama team and was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017 and was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.
Dulari Devi is an Indian artist and illustrator, working in the Mithila art tradition. In 2021, she was a recipient of the Padma Shri, a civilian honour granted by the Government of India, for her contributions to art.
Daya Prakash Sinha, also known as D. P. Sinha, is an Indian retired IAS officer, currently serving as the national convener for BJP Cultural Cell and vice-president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He is also a director, writer, dramatist and playwright, known for his Hindi plays such as Samraat Ashok, Seedhiyan,, Katha Ek Kans Ki, Itihas Chakra and Rakt Abhishek. He is a recipient of Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in the Republic of India. His theatrical works have been published and staged for 50 years and translated into many languages.
Himmat Ram Bhambhu is a nature activist, wildlife conservationist and environmental activist. He has received Padma Shri from Indian Government.
Kapil Tiwari is an Indian folk philanthropist. He was awarded Padma Shri for his contribution in folk in 2020.
SmtAjita Srivastava is an Educationist, Famous Indian singer and Social worker. Smt Srivastava is known for her Kajari folk songs. She has been awarded Padma Shri in 2022 by the Government of India for her contributions in the field of arts.
