Shivaprakash, Thayil bag Sahitya Akademi awards

Booker-nominated Jeet Thayil, noted Kannada writer HS Shivaprakash and Malayalam writer K Sachitandandan are among 24 eminent poets and authors who have been selected for the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards for this year.

Thayil, son of writer and editor TJS George, is the author of four collections including “These Errors Are Correct”, which has been selected by the jury for the prestigious award. His first novel, “Narcopolis”, was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize.

Shivaprakash, an eminent poet and playwright, has seven anthologies of poems, twelve plays and several other books to his credit. His works have been widely translated into English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. He currently heads the Tagore Cultural Centre in Berlin. His Mabbina Haage Kanive Haasi has been selected for the prize.

Sachitandandan, was a professor of English and editor of Sahitya Akademi ‘s “Indian Literature”, has 23 collections of poetry, 16 collections of translations of poetry and 21 collections of essays on literature, language and society-three of them in English, four plays and three travel narratives to his credits.Known for the subtle and nuanced articulations of socio-political contexts in his poetry, he is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Malayalam. The jury has selected Sachitandandan’s “Marannu Vacha Vazhikal” for the award.

The Akademi said 12 books of poetry, six short story collections, four novels and one each of autobiography and criticism were selected for the awards this year, two of them posthumously. The awards were given to books first published between January 2008 and December 2010. The award carries R one lakh cash, engraved copper plaque and a shawl.

Among the poets, other winners are Guneswar Musahary (Bodo – Boro Khonthai), Chandrakant Devtale (Hindi – Pathar Fenk Raha Hoon), Kashinath Shamba Lolienkar (Konkani – Kavyasutra) and Darsan Buttar (Punjabi – Maha Kambani).

Aaidan Singh Bhatti (Rajasthani – Aankh Hinye Ra Hariyal Sapana), Ramji Thakkura (Sanskrit - Laghupadyaprabandhatrayi) and Krishna Kumar Toor (Urdu – Ghurfa-I-Ghalib) are the other poets who were selected for the award. Assamese writer Chandana Goswami was selected for her novel “Patkair Loare More Desh” while Mukhopadhyaya was selected for his fiction “Birasan”. Other novelists are Jodha C Sanasam (Manipuri – Mathou Kanba DNA) and D Selvaraj (Tamil – Thol).

In Gujarati, Chandrakant Topiwala's critical study “Gujarati Sakshibhasya” was selected for the award.