NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14: Noted Hindi novelist Shreelal Shukla has been selected for the prestigious `Vyas Samman’ for his novel Bisarampur ka Sant‘.
The award, given annually by the K K Birla Foundation to an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years, carries a cash reward of Rs 2.50 lakh and a citation, a release from the foundation said here on Tuesday.
There are a number of high level awards in Hindi but they are generally author-centric while the Vyas Samman is given for a particular work, it said.
In Bisarampur ka Sant, published in 1998 and translated into almost all Indian languages and English, Shukla, through the eyes of the character Kunwar Jayanti Prasad, brings out the distortions in today’s political scenario.
He vividly portrays politicians sunk in carnal pleasures and subtly hints at how the foundations of constitutional institutions are being eroded, the release said.
Being a product of today’s rough and tumble politics, Shukla’s work gives a scathing but artistic account of prevailing political and social realities, it added.