President of India Droupadi Murmu conferred Padma Shri to Romalo Ram of Jammu and Kashmir in the field of Art during the civil investiture ceremony in New Delhi on Thursday.

Romalo Ram is a Dogri Folk artist of the Jammu region and is known as the real founder of the Dogri folk song Geetru. He revived the dying folk form “Geetru and Bhakh” with his dedication and hard work. Born on March 3, 1963, Ram received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985 from Jammu University and after graduation, he joined as a government teacher in 1987 and started writing Dogri poems and folk songs.

He served in remote areas for better education, particularly of the village students and he retired as Zonal Education Officer, Ramnagar in Udhampur district in March 2023.

Ram started performing Dogri folk in 1980-81 under the banner ‘Romalo Ram and Party’ by participating in local functions.He served across the Jammu region for a long time and started a new revolution by the name of ‘Mission Maa Dogri’. His ‘Mission Maa Dogri’ model has become the foundation for the huge success of young aspirants in the region.

More than 150 students are working and learning the traditional art under him. Ram published a book ‘Geetruyen Di Fouhar’.

His contribution in the form of cassettes, records, and published articles is proof of his excellence in the field.

He was approved as a B-grade artist in All India Radio (AIR) Jammu in 1988 and in 1995 approved as a B-high grade Jammu.

He acted as a member of the General Council Committee of JKAACL to represent Dogri folk music and remained an active member of the Advisory Sub Committee for folk music nominated by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages.

He acted as brand ambassador of the SVEEP programme of district Udhampur and Reasi in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly election 2014. Romalo Ram is the recipient of numerous awards and honours.