Poet, writer Mohi selected for Saraswati Samman ’19
NEWDELHI: Acclaimed Sindhi poet and writer Vasdev Mohi has been selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman, a literary recognition given annually by the KK Birla Foundation. The award is for his work ‘Chequebook’, a collection of short stories in Sindhi, published in 2012.
‘Chequebook’ highlights the life of a domestic helper, facing illtreatment from her husband and hardships because of poverty.
Born in 1944 in Mirpur Khas of undivided India, Mohi has a repertoire that includes 25 books of poetry, translated works, critical pieces and short stories. His critical essays and papers have appeared in national and international literary seminars. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Sindhi Sahitya Academy Award, Gangadhar Mehar
National Award and Lifetime Achievement Award of Sindhi Academy. Announcing the award , the foundation said Mohi succeeded in capturing the agony and suffering of the marginalised sections of the society in the stories of ‘Chequebook’. The award carries a cash purse of ~15 lakh, apart from a citation and a plaque. “The merit of this volume does not only lie in its thematic variety of stories but this volume is different from other volumes of short stories with regard to the use of stylistic devices… Many of the stories proceed in dialogue form. At times, we feel that they easily lend themselves to dramatic adaptations,” the foundation said.
With a Masters in English literature , Mohi joined Life insurance Corp of India, but went on to teach English at the Indian High School, Dubai, from where he retired as the lecturer and the head of department, English. The work was selected by a committee headed by former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap. Besides the Saraswati Samman, two other awards – the Vyas Samman (for Hindi works by Indian citizens) and Bihari Puraskar (for Hindi/rajasthani works by Rajasthani writers) — have been instituted by the KK Birla Foundation, a literary and cultural organisation.