Prize Moment

The final countdown to the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has begun,with the original 16 contenders being pared down to six.

Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE
October 31, 2010 05:11 AM IST

2 min read

The final countdown to the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has begun,with the original 16 contenders being pared down to six. Among these are Amit Chaudhuris The Immortals,in which the writer explores the world of musicians and singers,Tania James story about two sisters and their choices in Atlas Of Unknowns and Manju Kapurs The Immigrant,a moving analysis of a marriage between two immigrants in the US. Pakistani writers Musharraf Ali Farooqui and HM Naqvi,too,make it to the shortlist as does Neel Mukherjee. While Mukherjees A Life Apart,moves from contemporary London to pre-Independence Bengal,Farooquis is a quiet and intimate tale called The Story of a Widow. Naqvis Home Boy,is,on the other hand,a brash post 9/11 saga. The shortlist was announced a few days ago at the Globe Theatre in London.

The prize,worth $50,000 (Rs 23 lakh appox),has been introduced this year to reward writing about South Asia. While talking about the process of shortlisting,chairperson of the five-member jury,Nilanjana S Roy recalled the experiences of the other jury members Moni Mohsin was taken,as we all were,by the rich variety of experiences that one gets from these novels; Ian Jack commented that the South Asian novel today has found its voiceoften multiple and very varied voices. For Lord Matthew Evans,reading the novels was a welcome reminder of how much things had changed from the era when Britain and America exported books to India and Pakistan. Amitava Kumar commented on how the South Asian novel may have some of the old tropespices,and servants,and glossaries but had moved beyond these,with authors now writing departures from the familiar. The winner will be declared at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January.