Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Writer Nasera Sharma awarded Vyas Samman for Kagaz Ki Naav
NEW DELHI: Renowned writer Nasera Sharma was presented the prestigious Vyas Samman for her work Kagaz Ki Naav, published in 2014, on Friday. The award, instituted by the KK Birla Foundation, is given annually for an outstanding literary work in Hindi.
The award for the year 2019 was presented to Sharma by noted author and scholar Prof Nityanand Tiwari.
Born in 1948 in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, Sharma, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Paarijaat in 2016, has published over 10 books and several short stories. She is considered an authority on Central Asia and West Asia, particularly Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.
Conversant with Pashto and Persian languages, in addition to her proficiency in Hindi, English and Urdu, Sharma has interviewed intellectuals from India, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan through her career.
Speaking about her awardwinning work, Sharma recalled how she was inspired to write after she saw an undernourished child in a field in Bihar, but the book took shape many years later.
The Vyas Samman was instituted in 1991 and carries a cash prize of ₹4 lakh, a citation and a plaque for a work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen and published during the last 10 years.
The Foundation also presents the Saraswati Samman, which carries a cash award of ₹15 lakh and is presented for an outstanding literary work by an Indian citizen in any of the languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Constitution; and the Bihari Puraskar, which has a cash prize of ₹2.50 lakh and is given to writers from Rajasthan for their work in Hindi or Rajasthani.