New Delhi: English novelis Namita Gokhale, Bengali Playwright Bratya Basu, and the author Ambai, George Onakkoor and Guardian Mohammed Kashtawari are among the 20 writers whose work on Thursday declared the award winner of the Sahitya Academy for 2021.
The award language includes seven poetry books, two Novel, five short stories, two dramas and one biography, autobiography, epic poetry and criticism.
A statement by Sahitya Academy said the award for Maithili, Manipuri, Gujarati and Urdu would be announced later.
Sahitya Academy also announced Anita Vachharajani as the winner of Bal Sahitya Purascar, was given to the literature of children, because of his book ‘Amrita Shergil: rebels with brushes’, while Megha Majumdar won the Sahitya Academy of Yuva Purascar, for its novel, for the novel ‘Burning’.
Gokhale, who won the award for his novel ‘things to abandoned’, said in a post on Twitter that he was “very respectable” to accept it.
“Feel a feeling of pride and a deep gratitude belongs to the bright Indian literature,” he said.
Malayalam Writer George Onakkoor won the award for his autobiography ‘Hryudyarangangang (Heart songs)’.
Onakkoor, 80, is a twice receiver from the Kerala Sahitya Academy award and is known for its novels, short stories, film scripts and travelogs.
Tamil Feminist Writer CS Lakhsmi, better known as Ambai, whose writing is challenging stereotypes of women, winning for the collection of stories ‘Sivappu Kazhutthudan Oru Patchaiiparavai’ and is the fourth woman from Tamil Nadu to receive awards.
The list of winners also includes poets and Telangana MLC Gorati Venkanna, Minister of Trinamool Congress, drama writer and film director Bratya Basu, and Kashmir Guardian Mohammed Kashtawari, who criticized ‘Tawazun’ won awards.
Basu, whose film has controversy in IFFI recently in Goa to be dropped from the festival line, winning the Sahitya Academy for his game ‘Mirjafar o Ananya Natak.