The list of 12 nominees for the inaugural “Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman” Awards in 2023 was released by the Bank of Baroda (Bank). The 12 novels up for nomination include two Bengali-language works, Mahanadi and Ghar Palano Chhele. The purpose of this special award is to recognize and support literary works written in different Indian languages covered by the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and make the best Indian literature accessible to Hindi readers by way of translations. This will increase interest in the books and their accessibility to a wider audience.

The Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman Award will be given to both the author of the original work and the translator of the book into Hindi. The author of the original work and the respective Hindi translator of the award-winning book will receive Rs. 21.00 lakh and Rs. 15.00 lakh respectively.

The authors and the Hindi translators of the following five shortlisted books will receive Rs. 3.00 lakh and Rs. 2.00 lakh each respectively. 

The original authors Anita Agnihotri and Manoranjan Byapari, and one of the translators, LipikaSaha participated in a panel discussion with Joydeep Dutta Roy, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda.

The authors discussed the condition of Indian literature and the Rashtrabhasha Samman Award’s significance for the country’s literary community.

The heartfelt connection between a river and the residents who live along its banks is depicted in Anita’s book “Mahanadi”. The Mahanadi River in India has significant cultural, historical, and ecological value, and the author explores these aspects of its significance in the novel, underlining the connection between human life and the natural world. Along with Hindi, “Mahanadi” has also been translated into English and Odia.

The book “Ghar Palano Chhele” by Byapari dives into themes of social inequity, prejudice, and the quest for identity and acceptance while examining the life and experiences of a marginalized young kid in modern society.

The five-member awards jury is chaired by renowned author and Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree. The other four jury members are Arun Kamal, an Indian poet, Pushpesh Pant, a prominent academic and historian, Anamika, a contemporary Indian poet and novelist and Prabhat Ranjan, a Hindi fiction writer and translator.

The Bank had invited nominations during the period March-April 2023 and received several entries written in different Indian languages, from which the jury prepared a list of 12 books to be on the long list.

The winner of the ‘Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman’ Award will be announced in mid-June, 2023 in Delhi.

For more details, visit: http://www.bankofbaroda.in