Padma Binani Foundation – a government recognized, non-profit, cultural organization promoted by Padma Binani Foundation – honoured Smt. Sumangala as the recipient of the prestigious 7thVatsalya Award, 2012-2013 for children literature.

Gracing the occasion was Shri Raj K Purohit- Ex-Minister Govt. of Maharashtra, Shri. Vishwanath Sachdev-Editor, Navneet, Smt. Padma Binani-Chairperson, Padma Binani Foundation. Smt. Sumangala was awarded with a cheque of Rs 1 Lakh,  shawl and a memento.

Under the able guidance of Smt Padma Binani, the selection committee for the Vatsalya Award comprised of Prof. A. Aravindakshan- Pro. Vice Chancellor- Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University , Wardha, Prof. Thomas Mathew- Lecturer & Professor in differentGovt colleges, and Dr. P V Krishnan Nair- Secretary Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademi.The jury selected Smt. Sumangala for this prestigious Award. Smt Padma Binani stated, “Padma Binani Foundation is recognizing her outstanding contribution of more than 53 years in the field of children’s literature based on Indian tradition and Indian Mythology aiming at character building, socialization and moral strengtheningin Malayalam language”.

The Committee received about 77 entries in Malayalam language. Each entry was individually scored by the judges to arrive at the name of the Awardee.Earlier, this prestigious Award has been given in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali and Konkani language.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Raj K Purohit, Ex-Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra, said, “I am highly impressed with Smt. Padma Binani’s contribution to the society in promoting children’s literature. Padma Binani Foundation has been doing great work towards providing good future to the children of this country and for cultural up-liftment. Initiative of this Foundation is expected to encourage many more authors in creating literary pieces for children, which is a need of the hour.”

On the occasion, Shri VishwanathSachdev, Editor, Navneet, added, “The work done by this foundation in the field of literature, music and culture is truly motivating.”

Addressing the audience, Smt Padma Binani, Chairperson, Padma Binani Foundation, said “This foundation is committed to the all-round development of the children. We firmly believe that only through character building and instilling the value of hard work among children, we can hope for a bright future of this country.”