Itanagar-based author and journalist Mamang Dai on Thursday won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her 2014 novel The Black Hill. Dai, a Padma Shri recipient, was among 24 novelists, poets and short story writers who received the coveted literature award for major Indian languages.
Literary critic Ramesh Kuntal Megh got the award in the Hindi category for his critique Vishwa Mithak Sarit Sagar.
The winning works of literature included seven novels, five books each of poetry, short stories and literary criticism, and one book each of plays and essays.
Books published between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015, were eligible for the Sahitya Akademi awards. The award includes a casket containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. The winners will receive the award on February 12.
Twenty-four other books won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize. Some of the well-known books whose translation received the honour include: Kalidasa’s Meghdoot (Sanskrit to Urdu, by Mahmood Ahmad Sahar), Harivanshrai Bachchan’s Meghshala (Hindi to Santhali, by Surya Singh Besra) and Mulk Raj Anand’s Two Leaves and a Bud (English to Assamese, by Babul Tamuly).
The Sahitya Akademi has not announced the date for the translation award ceremony yet.
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