Sahitya Akademi awards: Recognising literary works
SAHITYA AKADEMI announced its annual Sahitya Akademi awards in 24 languages on December 21. Seven books of novel, five of poetry, five of short stories, five of literary criticism and one of play and essays have won the Sahitya Akademi awards 2017.
The awards were recommended by distinguished jury members representing 24 Indian languages and approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi which met under the Chairmanship of Professor Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, President, Sahitya Akademi.
Those who have won the award for their collection of poetry include Udaya Narayana Singh ‘Nachiketa’ (Maithili), Shrikanth Deshmukh (Marathi), Bhujana Tudu (Santali), (Late) Inqulab (Tamil), and Devipriya (Telugu). Jayanta Madhab Bora (Assamese), Afsar Ahmed (Bengali), Rita Boro (Bodo), Mamang Dai (English), K P Ramanunni (Malayalam), Niranjan Mishra (Sanskrit), and Nachhattar (Punjabi) were awarded for their novel.
Those who have won the awards for their collection of short stories include Shiv Mehta (Dogri), Autar Krishen Rahbar (Kashmiri), Gajanan Jog (Konkani), Gayatri Saraf (Odia), and Baig Ehsas (Urdu). Urmi Ghanshyam Desai (Gujarati), Ramesh Kuntal Megh (Hindi), T P Ashoka (Kannada), Bina Hangkhim (Nepali) and Neeraj Daiya (Rajasthani) have won for their works on literary criticism. Rajen Toijamba (Manipuri) and Jagdish Lachhani (Sindhi) has been awarded for play and essays respectively.
The books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a jury of three members in the concerned languages in accordance with the procedure laid down for the purpose. According to the procedure, the executive board declared the award on the basis of unanimous selection based by the jurors or selection made on the basis of majority vote. The awards relate to books first published during the five years immediately preceding the year of award (i.e. between Janu- ary 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015). The award in the form of casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh will be presented to the authors at a special function to be held on February 12 at New Delhi during the Festival of Letters organised by Sahitya Akademi.