|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Malayalam short story writer Paul Zachariah, English novelist Upmanyu Chatterjee, Hindi poet Viren Dangwal and Punjabi critic Satinder Singh Noor were among the winners of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi awards for 2004.
Nirupama Dutt looks at the men and their metier
The Sahitya Akademi awards often generate a lot of heat and controversy. In fact there are times when fingers are pointed that the awards have gone to the undeserving. And, there have been times when the stature of the awards goes up because they have supposedly gone to the writers who have made a place in the hearts of readers. The 2004 awards, which were announced just short of Christmas, belong to the second category and murmurs in the literary circles are that the Sahitya Akademi is trying to shed its saffron hues. Whatever be the reason, it is heartening that among the awardees are several names that warm the heart in cold climes. At the top of the charts is the name of iconoclastic and irrepressibly unorthodox Paul Zachariah. He is one of Kerala’s most significant modernist writers. Zachariah won the award for his collection of short stories Zachariyayute Kathakal. He has to his credit many collections of short stories, two novellas and a volume of essays. His writing has been path-breaking with a marked individualistic style and an underlying sense of humour. He has often been in news with forces of Hindutva and followers of Mata Amrithanandmayi threatening to kill him. A recipient of the Katha award earlier, his writings have been with the English readers in The Reflections of a Hen in her Last Hour, Praise the Lord and What News, Pilate? The stories range from the sexual fantasies of an old man, an earthy, physical portrait of Christ trying to come to terms with the burden of his destiny, to a confessional letter from Pontius Pilate. A fearless and controversial public intellectual, Zachariah has spoken consistently against religious and cultural fundamentalism. Like Zachariah, Jayanti Naik (Konkani) and Salam Bin Razzak (Urdu) have also received the award for short fiction. The other fiction writer who has got an award this time for English is Upmanyu Chatterjee of the English August fame. He has been given the award for his novel The Mammaries of the Welfare State. A civil servant by profession, Chatterjee made an impact way back in 1988 with his dry humour and for portraying the lifestyles of the westernised Indian youth of the early eighties in English August. Unlike some other writers writing in English, Chatterjee has not made big hype but has chosen a low-profile image and has worked quietly on fiction. He is known for lacing fiction with a dry sense of humour. Besides Chatterjee, other novelists honoured were Geetha Nagabhushana (Kannada), Sadanand Deshmukh (Marathi), Nand Bhardwaj (Rajasthani), Kala Nath Shahstri (Sanskrit) and Naveen (Telegu). Another daring award for poetry goes to the well-loved poet of Hindi, Viren Dangwal. Associated with the Naxalite movement in India, Viren has been known for his fearless criticism of the system in his poetry. Although he lives in Bareily, he is well-known in North India. Adhar Prakashan in Panchkula published his poetry and also awarded him the Adhar Samman a decade ago. Viren’s recent poetry has been a scathing comment on the state-engineered riots. His poetic diction has a very personal metaphor that yet has the ability to reach out to people. Other poets who have got awards in the different categories are Hirendra Nath Dutta (Assamese) Gh Nabi Firaq (Kashmiri), Chandrabhanu Singh (Maithili), Birendrajit Naorem (Manipuri), Jos Yonjan ‘Pysai’ (Nepali) and Tamilanban (Tamil). Closer home the speculation about Punjabi was that would the award go to the critic Satinder Singh Noor or his prot`E9g`E9, poet Vineeta. Well the Guru triumphed over the shishya and criticism took the better of poetry. Noor got the award for his book of criticism Kavita di Bhoomika. Noor is an institution in the world of Punjabi letters and known for his love of poetry and poets. He has been an admirer of the poetry of Surjeet Patar and Amitoj. Noor himself pens poetry but is better known for his criticism. A former head of the Department of Punjabi, Delhi University, and editor of Punjabi Akademi journal Samdarshi, Noor wields great power in the Punjabi literary circles. However, what he is liked most for is his good nature and the spirit of Punjabiyat deeply entrenched in him. The other critic who got the award for criticism is Satish Rohra (Sindhi). Amritlal Vegad (Gujarati) was honoured for his travelogue. Another award worth noticing has gone to the Dogri scholar Shiv Nath for his book of essays. Shiv Nath, a retired officer of the Indian Postal Service, devoted a lifetime to the promotion of Urdu. Late in life he married celebrated fiction writer of Hindi Krishna Sobti. The couple live in Delhi and Shiv Nath has translated some of Sobti’s novels. In fact he has the honour of not just being the man Sobti chose to settle down with but the only translator whom she allowed to touch her fiction. The other two awards for essays have gone to Sudhir Chakraborty (Bengali) and Prafulla Kumar Mohanty (Oriya). |
