NEW DELHI/RAIPUR: Poet and novelist Vinod Kumar Shukla , whose writings have unerringly and enduringly captured the dilemmas and complexities of ordinary lives in an original and audacious voice to produce the magical from the real, will receive the 59th Jnanpith Award for 2024. A distinguished selection committee, chaired by Jnanpith awardee Pratibha Rai, decided to confer the award to Shukla, now 88, on Saturday. He is the first writer from Chhattisgarh, and the 12th Hindi litterateur, to be bestowed with the honour.
"His writings are known for their simplicity, sensitivity and unique style. He is also famous for experimental writing in modern Hindi literature ," a press release issued by Bharatiya Jnanpith said. Shukla responded in free verse when asked for his reaction, "Mujhe likhna bahut tha, lekin bahut kam likh paya, maine dekha bahut, suna bhi maine bahut, mehsoos bhi kiya bahut, lekin likhne main thoda hi likha.
" ("I had a lot to write, but could write very little, I saw a lot, I heard a lot, I felt a lot too, but I wrote only a little.) Starting with the ordinary, yet extraordinary line, "Kitna sukh tha ki har baar ghar laut kar aane ke liye main baar baar ghar se baahar nikloonga (It was such a feeling of happiness that to order to return home each time, I had to step out again and again," Naukar Ki Kameez (The servant's shirt) became his most acclaimed and popular work. The novel was adapted by renowned filmmaker Mani Kaul into a feature film in 1999.
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