Bank of Baroda announces the Long-list of 12 Nominees of the 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' Award

Shri Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director and CEO, Bank of Baroda with Shri Manoj Borgaokar (R), the original author and Shri Gorakh Thorat (L), the translator, of the book ‘Nadeesht’, a Marathi-language novel which is a part of the 12 nominations announced for the 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' Awards held in Mumbai today

The Award recognizes literary works in Indian languages & the translation of these into Hindi, and will be presented to both the original author and the translator 

Renowned Author and Booker Prize winner Ms. Geetanjali Shree is the Chairperson of the 5-member jury

‘Nadeesht’, a Marathi-language novel is among the 12 nominations

Mumbai, May 24, 2023: Bank of Baroda (Bank), one of India’s leading public sector banks, today announced the long-list of 12 Novels, nominated for the first edition of the 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' Award 2023. The unique award has been instituted to recognize and promote literary works in various Indian languages (included under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) as well as to make the best Indian literature available to Hindi readers through translations, thereby broadening the interest and making the novels accessible to a larger set of readers. 

The 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' Award will be presented to both the author of the original work and the translator of the book in to 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. Moreover, the authors and the Hindi translators of the next five shortlisted books will receive Rs. 3.00 lakh and Rs. 2.00 lakh each respectively.  

Unveiling the long-list of nominations, Mr. Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda said “India is a diverse country – a melting pot of cultures, religions and languages. And in its diversity lies its strength and distinctiveness. We believe that the promotion of literature across Indian languages helps strengthen our multiculturalism. We established 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' to recognize and celebrate original Indian language literature           and the translations of these works in Hindi. The ‘Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman’ award will offer a national platform to talented Indian writers from different parts of the country and will give a boost to Indian language literature as well as encourage literary translations.”

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

The Bank had initiated the process of inviting nominations during the period March-April 2023 and received several entries written in different Indian languages, from which the jury has prepared a long-list of 12 books. Details of the books are enumerated below in alphabetical order:

Original Novel Name Original Language Original Author Name Translated Novel Name Translator name

1. Abhipreta Kala Odia Paramita Satpathy Abhipret Kaal Ajoy Kumar Patnaik

2. Allah Miyan ka Karkhna Urdu Mohsin Khan Allah Miyan Ka Karkhna Saeed Ahmad

3. Baki Safa 5 te Punjabi Roop Singh Baki Safa 5 par Subhash Neerav

4. Cheeni Kothi Urdu Siddique Alam Cheeni Kothi Arjumand Ara

5. Ek Khanjar Paani Men Urdu Khalid Jawed Ek Khanjar Paani Men Rizvanul Haque

6. Fatsung Nepali Chuden Kavimo Fatsung : Kahani Mitti Ki Namrata Chaturvedi

7. Ghar Palano Chhele Bengali Manoranjan Byapari Bhaga hua ladka Amrita Bera 

8. Mahanadi Bengali Anita Agnihotri Mahanadi Lipika Saha

9. Nadeesht Marathi Manoj Borgaokar Nadeesht Gorakh Thorat

10. Nemat Khana Urdu Khalid Jawed Nemat Khana Zaman Tariq

11. Poimugam Tamil Vaasanthi Mukhauta S Bhagyam Sharma

12. Thirakkaatha Jannalkal Tamil Vassanthi Band Khidkiyan S Bhagyam Sharma 

At the long-list announcement event organised in Mumbai today, Shri Manoj Borgaokar, the original author and Shri Gorakh Thorat, the translator, of the book ‘Nadeesht’ - a Marathi-language novel which features amongst the 12 nominations, participated in a free-wheeling panel discussion. The two writers conversed on the Indian literature landscape and the significance of the Rashtrabhasha Samman award for the literary fraternity across India.

' Nadeesht ' describes an environment enacted through the daily life of the people living on the banks of the Godavari river. The novel is included in the syllabus of various universities and is also staged in drama form in Pune. This is the eight edition of Nadeesht being published in three years and the novel has been translated in Kannada and Hindi. 

The winner of the 'Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman' Award will be announced on 10th June, 2023 in Delhi. 

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