Bengaluru, 12 September : The Shabd Sahityik Sanstha, Bengaluru, a reputed literary organisation of Hindi writers, announced the winners of its two annual awards, ‘Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman’ and ‘Dakshin Bharat Shabd Hindi Sevi Samman’ for the year 2023 here on Tuesday.
Hrishikesh Sulabh to receive ‘Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman’
The ‘Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman’ of ₹1lakh will be awarded to eminent Hindi novelist Hrishikesh Sulabh for his novel ‘DATA PIR’. Similarly the recipient of ‘Dakshin Bharat Shabd Hindi Sevi Samman’ of ₹20,000 has been bagged by nonagenarian Shanta Bai for her remarkable contribution in the promotion of Hindi language and literature in the southern region of India.
At a press conference here, Dr. Shreenarayan Sameer, president of ‘Shabd Sahityik Sanstha’ said that both the awardees will be presented Mysore Peta, memento and Angavastram along with prize money at annual function to be held in Bengaluru on December 10.
He mentioned that the ‘Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman’ will be presented by the foundation belonging to Bangalore’s renowned social worker and exponent of ‘Agyeya’ literature Babulal Gupta. The ‘Dakshin Bharat Shabd Hindi Sevi Samman’ will be presented together courtesy by ‘Dakshin Bharat Rashtramat’, a leading Hindi newspaper group published from Bangalore and Chennai.
According to the press release, a jury of imminent personalities unanimously agreed on the names of the awardees. The selected entries were evaluated and recommended by a five-member evaluation committee of the scholars of Hindi language and literature. In the decision, along with transparent evaluation of the works of the selected authors/poets, their creative contribution until now, was also taken into consideration.
53 entries evaluated by committee of scholars
A total of 53 entries were evaluated by the committee headed by renowned editor & Agyeya exponent Om Thanvi consisting of writer Dr. Bhanwar Singh Shktavat, Ramita Singh and translation expert I C Mishra. After considering the evaluation and recommendation of the evaluators as a whole, the jury decided the name of the award winners unanimously. The jury members include Babulal Gupta, Shrikant Parashar, Nalini Popat & Dr Ushaa Rani Rao. Dr. Shreenarayan Sameer was the convener of both the evaluation committee and the jury.
The jury has said in its recommendation for the ‘Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman’ that Hrishikesh Sulabh is a heart touching novelist of social reality and irony in contemporary Hindi fiction. His ‘DATA PIR’ is a novel that enriches the fiction world of Hindi literature by depicting the passions and untouched aspects of Muslim life while creating indigenous charm in the language”.
In recommending the name of nonagenarian Shanta Bai for the ‘Dakshin Bharat Shabd Hindi Sevi Samman’, the jury observed that “The flame of love for Hindi language that Ms Shanta Bai has kindled in the hearts and minds of young girls of Karnataka by her long practice and teaching, its light has spread not only in Karnataka, but all over South India. She has done a great job of empowering the sentiments of the nation through the development and promotion of Kannada-Hindi friendship through her teaching and behavior.
