Balwinder Singh Grewal wins Dhahan Prize for his short story collection Dubolia
CHANDIGARH: Balwinder Singh Grewal’s short story collection Dubolia won him the The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature, 2022, while writers Javed Boota and Arvinder Kaur were the other finalists honoured for their respective works Cholan Di Burki and Jhanjraan Wale Paer at a ceremony in Surrey, British Columbia, on Thursday night.
The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature was founded almost a decade ago in Metro Vancouver and awards a total of $45,000 CDN to three writers: The winner takes home $25,000 CDN and two additional finalists get $10,000 CDN each.
Tap on the shoulder: Grewal
“The Dhahan Prize is a huge tap on my shoulder,” Grewal said of his short story collection Dubolia (the Diver). “I am happy and inspired to continue my creative journey with a greater sense of gratitude and responsibility,” he said in a release.
Grewal and Arvinder Kaur hail from India, while Boota lives at Chantilly, Virginia, USA.
Speaking at the gathering about his short story collection, Cholan Di Burki (A Mouth Full of Rice), written in Shahmukhi script, Boota said, “From an early age I have been influenced by Punjabi culture and language. This led me to explore my interests and curiosity in Punjabi literature. With this prize, I will have more desire to write and promote Punjabi.”
“The broad theme of Arvinder Kaur’s short story collection, Jhanjraan Wale Paer (Feet with Tinkling Bells), is the world of complex relationships between men and women marked by romance, love, loyalty, deceit, duty, obligation, betrayal, lust, and depraved sexuality. These are emotionally demanding subjects, even draining, but she deals with them with great restraint and lucidity, never surrendering to the temptations of sentimentalism and overstatement,” said the citation.
Record submissions this year
Launched in 2013 by Barj Dhahan, the founding president of the and the University of British Columbia (UBC), the prize aims to promote Punjabi literature to encourage writers working in the two Punjabi scripts of Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi.
This year, the organisers said, they received a record number of international submissions from countries, including India, Pakistan, the UK, the US and Australia. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in BC after English, according to Statistics Canada. “Punjabi is a Canadian language now,” said Dhahan in a recent interview. Part of the ceremony included MLA Rachna Singh presenting a Provincial Proclamation declaring Punjabi Literature Week in British Columbia, a release from the organisers said.
Punjabi writer honoured with NY varsity’s Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize
A Sikh author, researcher and filmmaker who has focused his work on the history and legacy of Sikhism has been awarded Hofstra University’s 2022 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize.
Amardeep Singh, co-managing director and co-founder of Lost Heritage Productions in Singapore, recently completed a 24-episode docu-series retracing the 16th century travels of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion. Titled “Allegory: A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels”, the series was filmed at more than 150 multi-faith sites in nine countries, a press release said.
“To receive the Guru Nanak Prize from Hofstra University is a humbling recognition of our belief that the essence of existence is love for togetherness,” Singh said.