Jaya Jadwani receives 6th Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman

The controversy over the prestigious Bharat Bhushan Agarwal award for young poets in Hindi had just subsided when the Kusumanjali Foundation, New Delhi, announced the 6th Annual Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman winners for Hindi and Punjabi. Comparatively a younger award, Kusumanjali has till now been devoid of controversy and is gaining prestige gradually.

Jaya Jadwani has received the Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman for Hindi for 2017 for her novel Mitho Paani Kharo Paani. Jaya Jadwani is a prominent name in Hindi literature. Her novel Tattvamasi was appreciated widely. She has made a place for herself in Hindi fiction writing by her selection of subjects and sensitive characterisation. She is known as a poet too. Her novel Mitho Paani kharo Paani traces the five-thousand-year-old history of Sindh.

Kusumnjali Sahitya Samman 2017 for Punjabi has been shared between Manmohan Singh Bawa for his Novel Kaal Katha and Kirpal Kazak for his short story collection Antheen.

Both Manmohan Singh Bawa and Kirpal Kazak are prolific and well-known writers in Punjabi. Manmohan Singh Bawa has been awarded Sahitya Shiromani by the Delhi government too. He is well known as a painter too and has held many solo exhibitions (of water colour landscapes) in Delhi and in the US.

Besides being a writer of fiction, Kirpal Kazak has written and researched on the aboriginal tribes of Punjab, a subject very few have touched upon. He has been awarded Dalit Lekhan Puruskar and Writer’s Forum Punjab Puraskar among many others.

The award was instituted in 2011 by Dr Kusum Ansal, the well-known Hindi writer, to promote and support the artistic, literary, and cultural activities in the country. The works to be considered for the award include fiction, poetry, drama and short stories. One award is given on a literary work written in Hindi and the second award is given on a literary work written in one of the remaining recognised Indian languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution. The Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman carries a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh each, a citation, a shawl and the award statuette.