Bhasha Samman for Prof Venkatasubbaiah

Eminent Kannada lexicographer and writer Prof G Venkatasubbaiah has been selected for Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman for the year 2017 for his significant contributions in the field of classical and medieval literature.

Also, noted writer and critic KG Nagarajappa has been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award for his ‘Anushreni-Yajamanike,’ a literary criticism work in Kannada language.

Eminent poet Paresh Narendra Kamat has been named for the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry ‘Chitralipi’ in Konkani language.

The Sahitya Akademi announced their names for the prestigious awards here on Wednesday.

Born on August 23, 1913, at Ganjam village at Srirangapatna in Mandya district, Venkatasubbaiah, who is also a grammarian and editor, has compiled 10 dictionaries and authored ‘Klishtapada Kosha’, a dictionary of complex Kannada works.

The centenarian, who has edited over 60 books, published four children’s books, eight translation works and several papers, has also authored four seminal works on dictionary science in Kannada.

He has been decorated with several awards and honours, including Kannada Sahitya Academy Award, Rajyotsava Award, Shivaram Karanth Award, Pampa Award, Aryabhata Award and KM Munshi Award.

He was the recipient of Padma Shri, fourth highest civil award, in 2017.

Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, an inscribed copper plaque and a citation.

Besides Venkatasubbaiah, the Sahitya Akademi also announced the name of eminent Hindi poet and writer Yogendra Nath Sharma ‘Arun’ for the Sahitya Bhasha Samman-2017 for his contribution in the field of classical and medieval literature.

From eastern India, eminent scholar and Odia writer Gaganendra Nath Dash was chosen by the jury for the Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman-2018.

Noted Marathi writer Shailaja Bapat has been chosen by the jury for the Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman-2018 from western India.

This year, the literary body also announced Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman for eminent writers and scholars who have made significant contributions in the field of “unrecognized languages.”

Noted writers Haldhar Nag and Prafulla Kumar Tripathy were chosen by the jury for a joint Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman for their contributions in the field of Koshali-Sambalpuri language; Harikrishna Dwivedi and Shamim Sharma for their contributions in the field of Hariyanvi language.

H Nengsong, a retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer and a prominent tribe among the Paite tribe, has bagged Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman for his contributions in the field of Paite language.

The Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman will be presented to the awardees by President Ram Nath Kovind at a special function, date of which will be finalised later.

A total of 24 writers, poets and scholars have been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2018 for their contributions in the field of various Indian languages.

Each of the Sahitya Akademi Awards carries a cheque of Rs 1 lakh, a casket containing an engraved copper plaque and a shawl.