New Delhi: The main attraction of the second day of the world's largest literature festival being organised by Sahitya Akademi was the presentation of awards to writers in 24 Indian languages. Odia writer Pratibha Ray, distinguished Odia writer, was the Chief Guest at the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023 Presentation Ceremony, held at Kamani Auditorium. She said in her address that literature connects everyone. Literature never divides. Therefore, writing is always universal and does not lose its lustre even in times of various changes.
All Indian languages give us strength and also prepare us to speak the language of love. Linking the importance of language to culture, she said that without the progress of language, no culture can survive for long. Congratulating Sahitya Akademi for organizing the world's largest literature festival in this period of change, she said that this is literary capital. It will always show the right path. Presiding over the award presentation ceremony, Sahitya Akademi President Madhav Kaushik, President, Sahitya Akademi, said that today all the writers awarded are the commanders of their respective languages and they not only create but also preserve. He further said that whatever beauty and humanity is visible in the present times, it is because of the creative efforts of the writers. The litterateur, the spokesperson of the common man, always has to walk on hot coals. In his welcome address, Sahitya Akademi Secretary K. Sreenivasarao, Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, said that writers enrich us by imparting precious wealth of knowledge to us. The award-winning authors are - Pranab Jyoti Deka (Assamese), Swapnamoy Chakraborty (Bengali), Nandeshwar Daimary (Bodo), Vijay Verma (Dogri), Neelam Saran Gaur (English), Vinod Joshi (Gujarati), Sanjeev (Hindi), Lakshmisha Tolpady (Kannada), Manshoor Banihali (Kashmiri), Prakash S. Paryenkar (Konkani), Basuki Nath Jha (Maithili), E.V. Ramakrishnan (Malayalam), Sorokkhaibam Gambhini (Manipuri), Krishnat Tukaram Khot (Marathi), Yudhveer Rana (Nepali), Ashutosh Parida (Odia), Swarnjit Savi (Punjabi), Gaje Singh Rajpurohit (Rajasthani), Aruna Ranjan Mishra (Sanskrit), Tarasin Baske (Santali), Vinod Asudani (Sindhi), N. Rajasekaran (Tamil), Tallawala Patanjali Sastri (Telugu) and Sadiqa Nawab Sahar (Urdu). The award-winner in Assamese could not come due to health reasons. His son received the award on his behalf. Expressing her gratitude while concluding the award presentation ceremony, Prof. Kumud Sharma, Vice-President, Sahitya Akademi, said that today the self-respect, beauty and dignity of Indian literature can be seen together on this platform. Literature is eternal and paves the way for humanity for the next generations. The award presentation ceremony was followed by a presentation titled ‘Kasturi’ based on the poems of Rabindranath Tagore, conceptualized by Sandeep Bhutoria and composed by Padma Bhushan and Grammy Award recipient Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt.
The dance composition was done by Shinjini Kulkarni and the vocals were performed by Ankita Joshi. Tomorrow, under the prestigious ‘Samvatsar Lecture’ series of Sahitya Akademi, the famous Urdu poet and lyricist Sri Gulzar will speak about ‘Cinema and Literature’
