The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JUNE 11, 2023
Noted Urdu writer Mohsin Khan’s novel Allah Miyan Ka Karkhana has won the first edition of the ‘Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman’ 2023, announced here on Sunday.
Mohsin Khan, the author of the Urdu novel Allah Miyan Ka Karkhana and Saeed Ahmad, the translator of the book in Hindi, won the award. The original author of the novel received a cash award worth Rs 21 lakh while the translator received Rs 15 lakh as prize money.
Further, five novels – Paramita Sathapathy’s Abhipreta Kaala (Odia), Siddique Alam’s Cheeni Kothi (Urdu), Manoranjan Byapari’s Ghar Palano Chhele (Bengali), Manoj Borgaokar’s Nadeesht (Marathi) and Khalid Jawed’s Nemat Khana (Urdu) received the runners-up prizes at this year’s edition. The original authors of these novels and their Hindi translators received cash awards of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh each, respectively.
The five-member awards jury chaired by renowned author and International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree along with the other four jury members Arun Kamal, an Indian poet; Pushpesh Pant, an academic and food critic; Anamika, a contemporary Indian poet and novelist; and Prabhat Ranjan, a Hindi fiction writer selected the winner from the 6 short-listed books for the award
The ‘Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman’ has been instituted to acknowledge and celebrate acclaimed novels published in different Indian languages and their translated and published Hindi versions.
The initiative by the Bank will help enrich Indian languages further and widen the readership of these outstanding works by making them more accessible.
Speaking about the award, Bank of Baroda Managing Director & CEO Sanjiv Chadha said, “My heartiest congratulations to the winners of the first edition of the ‘Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman’ 2023 – Mohsin Khan and Saeed Ahmad and to the other shortlisted nominees as well. Bank of Baroda’s heritage comes from Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad who is considered a reformer as well as a connoisseur of literature and art. Taking this legacy forward, Bank of Baroda has instituted “Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman” to provide a national platform for talented writers from different parts of the country. India is a multilingual country and the different languages spoken add to its diversity and rich heritage. Through this initiative, the Bank aims to enrich the literary and cultural inheritance of the country.”
The awards night concluded with a musical performance by Wadali Brothers, Sufi singers and musicians from Guru Ki Wadali in the Amritsar District in Punjab.
