Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 18: Noted Kashmiri novelist, playwright, and short story writer, Dr Sohan Kaul, has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award 2024.
Son of late Trilauki Nath Kaul and resident of Budgam, 69-year-old Dr Kaul, who holds a doctorate degree in Urdu, received the prestigious honour for his novel Psychiatric Ward, published by Hussain Publication of Srinagar.
As per a statement issued by the Akademi, the awards for Dogri and Urdu languages will be declared at a later stage.
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Psychiatric Ward, according to Dr Kaul, is a story about the present-day human, who is facing an existential crisis due to rapid developments in science and technology, wars, and other problems, with limited time to understand oneself.
Dr Sohan Kaul had earlier been awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2023.
Dr Kaul has written around 16 plays in Kashmiri, most of which have been staged in Kashmir.
He has three collections of plays, “Naad”, “Shakespeare”, and “Ginden Tamashe”, in addition to “Khar Kalle” and “Yousuf Shah Chak”.
Besides his immense contribution to creative writing for theatre, he has written 16 novels, all of which have been highly regarded as credible fiction literature in the Kashmiri language.
Dr Kaul has also translated some of the most notable plays of world literature, such as Zoo Story by Edward Albee, The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley, Havadar by Girish Karnad, and Tuglaq by Girish Karnad.
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