Ahead of the Republic Day, the Union Government has announced the list of 21 Padma-Shri awardees for this year.

One of the awardees include a popular Muslim bhajan singer called Munna Master. He belongs from a traditional Muslim family of Bagaru in Jaipur district. He is carrying forward the family tradition of singing Ram-Krishna bhajans.

He has penned various Ram-Krishna bhajans and his book ‘Shri Shyam Surabhi Vandana’ is quite popular in the area. In the Padma Shri awardee list, he is referred as the epitome of India’s syncretic ethos -- offers namaz, sings bhajans, knows Sanskrit, takes care of cows.

However, it must also be noted that he is the father of Dr Feroze Khan, who got entangled in BHU row couple of months ago.