Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 5: Prominent Dogri writer Inderjeet Kesar and Kashmiri broadcaster Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq have bagged this year’s Sahitya Akademi Award for their Novel and short stories’ book, respectively.
Inderjeet Kesar has been awarded for his Dogri Novel “Bhagirath” while Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq has bagged the award for his collection of short stories, titled “Aakh’’.
The annual awards by the National Academy of Literature for 24 Indian languages were announced at a press conference in New Delhi today. Earlier, the Sahitya Akademi Executive Board approved the decision taken in this regard by the jury in respective languages.
For Dogri language, this year’s jury comprised of Shiv Mehta, Mohan Singh and Shiv Dev Sushil while for Kashmiri language, Prof Shad Ramzan, Autar Krishan Rehbar and Ruksana Jabeen were the jury members.
Inderjeet Kesar’s “Bhagirath” is among the six Novels, which have been finally selected for the Sahitya Academy Award this year. The Novel was published last year and widely appreciated in the literary circles.
Mr Kesar, who retired from the Secretariat Service in 2004 as Deputy Secretary, has so far written 21 books, including six Novels, two short stories, 11 poetry collections, an Essay and one Bhaint collection.
“Aakh”, a collection of eighteen short-stories, was chosen for Sahitya Academy Award amongst 13 books that had reached the final stage for Kashmiri language. The book was published in year 2012 and it has earlier also bagged the best book award in Kashmiri at the State level from State Academy of Art, Culture and Languages for year 2014.
Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq is a well known broadcast journalist who has bagged Akashwani Annual Award and State Award as an outstanding media professional as well. Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq (Tantray) is presently posted as Head of the Regional News Unit at Radio Kashmir Srinagar. He has the distinction for having served in Doordarshan News at DDK Srinagar for nine years apart from having worked in other media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as an Indian Information Service (IIS) officer.
The award will be presented to them at a special function on January 29, 2019, at New Delhi during the Festival of Letters, organized by Sahitya Akademi.
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