00:00Wearing a blue half lungi, a white kurta and a traditional turban, Pandi Ram Mandavi walked
00:08up to receive the Padma Shri from President Draupadi Murmu on 27th May 2025. By the evening,
00:14his photos had spread across social media drawing praise for his simplicity.
00:21Mandavi is a tribal artist from Narayanpur, a remote Maoist affected district in Chhattasgarh's
00:26Buster region, nearly 400 kilometers from Raipur. A member of the Gond Muriya tribe,
00:31he has spent over five decades carving stories into wood. He was just 12 when he began learning
00:36wood carving and flute making from his father. He mentioned how his father never received an award,
00:40but because of him, he was able to get one. He dedicated the Padma Shri to his father.
00:45His journey began with making wooden combs, flutes and carved pouches. The turning point
00:49came when a tourist once told him they were worth selling. Soon, Mandavi was traveling to Bhopal
00:54for exhibitions organized by the Adawasi Lok Kala Parishat, then to other states and eventually
00:58to countries abroad. One of his most recognizable creations is the Sulu, a bamboo flute unique to
01:04Buster and deeply rooted in tribal rituals. He spent a lifetime preserving the traditions of Buster's
01:09woodcraft. The Padma Shri awarded on 27th May 2025 marked the nation's recognition of that devotion.
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