Jaipur: Under an evening sky at the City Palace on Thursday, the Sawai Jaipur Awards 2026 honoured people and organisations across 25 categories, from medicine, journalism and the armed forces to traditional crafts and heritage conservation. Kailash Kher, Amish Tripathi and Tata Trusts were among this year's awardees.
The awards are held every year to mark the birth anniversary of His Highness Brigadier Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh, MVC of Jaipur, and are instituted by the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust. This year's ceremony took place in the Pritam Niwas courtyard of the City Palace on 22 October.
Watch: our reel from the evening at the City Palace on Instagram.
An evening at Pritam Niwas
The ceremony began as members of the erstwhile royal family took the stage: Rajmata Padmini Devi; Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari; His Highness Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh, Chairperson of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust; and Rajkumari Gauravi Kumari, along with religious leaders.
A portrait of Shri Govind Dev Ji was garlanded and flowers were offered in tribute to the late Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh. The religious leaders were felicitated and their blessings sought, and then the awards began. From the stage, the evening's anchor welcomed guests "as we gather to celebrate excellence, heritage, and the timeless cultural legacy of Jaipur."
The welcome address was given by Mrinalini Venkateswaran, Deputy Director of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust, and the vote of thanks by Vaibhav Chauhan, Director of the MSMS II Museum and the Trust.
The 2026 awardees
Each award carries the name of a ruler or member of Jaipur's royal family. One by one, the awardees came up to receive their honours. Here is the full list:
| Awardee | Award and field |
|---|---|
| Vimukti Sanstha | Raja Dulha Rai Award Social Work |
| Tata Trusts | Raja Kakil Dev Award Pioneering Work in the Field of Culture |
| Dr. Mohnish Grover | Raja Pajvan Dev Award Excellence in the Field of Medicine |
| Prof. Bhawani Shanker Sharma | Raja Bhagwant Das Award Excellence in Traditional Crafts of Jaipur |
| Rifleman Govind Singh | Raja Man Singh I Award Bravery |
| Col. Vikramjit Singh Kahlon | Mirza Raja Jai Singh I Award Distinguished Services in the Armed Forces |
| Dhirendra Godha | Mirza Raja Ram Singh I Award Excellence in the Field of the Environment |
| Rajeev Kohli | Maharaja Vishan Singh Award Excellence in the Field of Travel and Tourism |
| Dr. Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj | Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II Award Excellence in the Field of the Sciences |
| Kiran Rajpurohit | Maharaja Sawai Ishwari Singh Award Excellence in Journalism |
| Rohit Kumar Singh | Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I Award Excellence in Public Service and Philanthropy |
| Amish Tripathi | Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh Award Excellence in Literature and Education |
| Anupam Halder | Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh Award Excellence in Art, Painting and Sculpture |
| Samar Singh Jodha | HH Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II Award Excellence in the Field of Photography |
| Kailash Kher | HH Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II Award Excellence in Theatre, Film and Television |
| Mahaveer Parsad Saini | HH Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Award Excellence in Sports |
| Man Singh Rajawat | HH Maharani Marudhar Kanwar Award Excellence in Services in the MSMS II Museum Trust and JPCT |
| Chugge Khan | HH Maharani Kishore Kanwar Award Excellence in Performing Art |
| Major Dr. Meeta Singh | HH Rajmata Gayatri Devi Award Women's Excellence |
| Madhav Singhania | HH Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Award Excellence in Business and Industry |
| Surendra Singh Shekhawat | HH Rajmata Padmini Devi Award Loyal and Disciplined Services to the Royal Family of Jaipur |
| Ar. Ritu Singh | Maharaj Kumari Diya Kumari Award Leadership |
| Radha Goenka | HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh Award Excellence in the Preservation of Heritage and Architecture |
| Kamla Poddar | Rajkumari Gauravi Kumari Award Exemplary Achievement in a Start-up, Innovation or Invention with Great Social Impact |
| Vishavjeet | HH Maharaja Lakshraj Prakash of Sirmaur Award Outstanding Achievement in Any Field |
Jaipur turns 300
The evening also looked ahead. A screen in the courtyard carried the mark "Jaipur 300, 1727–2027": the city, founded by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727, turns 300 in 2027, and celebrations to mark the milestone begin from 18 November.
Speaking to the media at the City Palace, Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh asked everyone to take part. "I want to request everybody also on your channels to think about how they can do something for 300 years of Jaipur," he said. "It is really our privilege to be living in this city. So in your own little way, if you can celebrate or mark the celebration of this 300 years, it could be, I think you would be doing a great service to Sawai Jai Singh, who made and built this city all those years ago."
Speaking in Hindi, he added: "Search the whole world and you won't find a city like Jaipur anywhere, not just for its architecture and art, but for its intangible culture, its ways, and its people who carry these stories forward." (Translated from Hindi.)
Congratulations to every awardee. For more of what is happening in the city, see events in Jaipur on I Love Jaipur City.
Photos and video: I Love Jaipur City.
