Date: 16-02-1999 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: c
NEW DELHI, Feb. 15.
The Sahitya Akademi awards for 1998 will be presented to 21 writers in as many languages on February 23. The Akademi president, Mr. Ramakanta Rath, will give away the awards at a function here coinciding with a week-long ``festival of letters''. The following is the list of the award-winning works and the authors:
Assamese - Ashirbadar Rang (novel) by Mr. Arun Sharma; Bengali - Anubhav (novel) by Mr. Dibyendu Palit; English - Final Solutions and Other Plays by Mr. Mahesh Dattani; Gujarati - Vankadekham Vivechano (criticism) by Mr. Jayant Kothari; Hindi - Naye Ilake Mein (poetry) by Mr. Arun Kamal; Kannada - Sapta Padi (poetry) by Mr. B. C. Ramachandra Sharma; Kashmiri - Mahjoor Shinasi (criticism) by Mr. Mohd. Yousuf Taing; Konkani - Ashim Aslim Lharan (poetry) by Mr. J. B. Sequeira; Maithili - Takait Achhi Chirai (poetry) by Mr. Jeeva Kant; Malayalam - Thattakam (novel) by `Kovilan' (Mr. V. V. Ayyappan); Manipuri - Nongdi Tarakkhidare (short stories) by Mr. K. Priyokumar Singh; Marathi - Tukaram Darshan (criticism) by Mr. Sadanand More; Nepali - Adim Basti (poetry) by Mr. Man Prasad Subba; Oriya - Biswaku Gabakhya (essays) by Mr. Chittaranjan Das; Punjabi - Moon Di Akh (short stories) by Mr. Mohan Bhandari; Rajasthani - Ud Ja Re Sua (novel) by Shanti Bhardwaj Rakesh; Sanskrit - Pratanini (poetry) by Mr. Acharya Bacchulal Awasthi; Sindhi - Zalzalo (play) by Mr. Shyam Jaisinghani; Tamil - Visaranaik Kamishan (novel) by Mr. S. Kandasamy; Telugu - Balivada Kanta Rao Kathalu (short stories) by Mr. Balivada Kantha Rao; Urdu - Khoya Hua sa Kuch (poetry) by Nida Fazli.
The noted Kannada writer, Mr. S. L. Bhyrappa will be the chief guest at the awards ceremony while the Russian author, Mr. Valentin Rasoutin, will be the guest of honour.
The highlight of the festival will be a national seminar on ``the novel in search of the nation'' from February 26-28. The noted Hindi novelist, Mr. Nirmal Verma, will inaugurate the seminar.
The Oriya writer, Mr. Manoj Das, will deliver the key-note address at the seminar while the Hungarian author, Eva Toth, will be the chief guest. The `Samvatsar' lecture will be delivered by the Jnanpith winning Malayalam writer, Mr. M. T. Vasudevan Nair, in two parts of February 24 and 25. The festival will begin with the annual exhibition `Akademi '98' which will be inaugurated by Mr. Lalthangfala Sailo, president of the Mizo Akademi of Letters. The 1998 awardees will share their creative experience at a ``writers' meet'' on February 24.