Twenty-three writers and poets, including Gagan Gill in Hindi and Easterine Kire in English, received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for 2024 at a ceremony on Saturday during the ongoing Sahityotsav: Festival of Letters.
The annual awards, recognising works in different categories such as novels, short stories, poetry, essays and plays, were announced in December.
Gill received the award for his book of poetry "Main Jab Tak Aai Bahar" and Kire for her novel "Spirit Nights".
Sohan Koul received the award for his Kashmiri novel "Psychiatric Ward" while Paul Kaur was selected for her Punjabi book on poetry "Sun Gunvanta Sun Budhivanta: Itihaasnama Punjab".
The other recipients include K Jayakumar (Malayalam), Haobam Satyabati Devi (Manipuri), Dileep Jhaveri (Gujarati), Sameer Tanti (Assamese), Mukut Maniraj (Rajasthani) and Dipak Kumar Sharma (Sanskrit).
Aron Raja Basomatary received the award for his Bodo novel "Swrni Thakhai".
Chaman Lal Arora was awarded posthumously for his Dogri short story collection "Ik Hor Ashwthama".
In the short stories section, Yuva Baral received the award for "Chhichimira" (Nepali) and Hundraj Balwani for "Purzo" (Sindhi).
Mukesh Thali (Konkani), Mahendra Malangia (Maithili) and Baishnab Charan Samal (Odia) received the award for their essays while AR Venkatachalapathy (Tamil) was recognised for his research, and Maheshwar Sorn for his play "Seched Sawnta Ren Andha Manmi" (Santali).
KV Narayana, Sudhir Rasal and Penugonda Lakshminarayana were awarded for their literary criticism in Kannada, Marathi and Telugu, respectively.
Syed Ateequllah Tabish received the award for his criticism in Urdu.
The awardees each received a plaque, a shawl and Rs 1 lakh.
The ceremony was addressed by noted playwright Mahesh Dattani.
Delivering the address, Dattani said that Indians, especially writers, acknowledged and celebrated their diversity, as a singular identity was not enough to define them.
Writers celebrate languages, including the "one we are born to inherit, the one we express ourselves in, the one we dream in etc and together they form the language we write in".
"…As individual thinkers and artistes, we celebrate our creativity, nurtured by diverse psychological, familial and cultural experiences. A singular identity is not enough to define who we are as writers," Dattani said.
The "Final Solutions" author noted that India was home to more than 24 officially recognised languages and "countless dialects" that had their own script, grammar and vocabulary.
"…reflecting its speakers' distinct culture and history. From ancient Tamil Sangam texts and Sanskrit drama to contemporary novels and essays, we have given the world some of the most profound and beautiful works of literature. Storytelling is in our blood," he said.
He called for support and promotion of Indian languages and literature lest they get "homogenised or marginalised in an increasingly capitalised world".
"In conclusion, I would say we are many, many voices gathered here today and behind each voice there are many, many expressions and behind each expression there are timeless and universal feelings, moods and sentiments. Letters continue to celebrate it and promote this diversity and remain committed to the value of inclusivity, tolerance and cultural exchange that have always defined us as a nation," Dattani said.
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