Source : The Tribune
Founder head of the Hindi Department at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and literary critic Ramesh Kuntal Megh has been conferred with the Sahitya Akademi Award for Hindi literature for his book of literary criticism, Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar.
Delhi-based writer Nachhattar too has been awarded for his Punjabi novel “Slow Down”. Hailing from Barnala and settled in Delhi since 1982, where Nachhattar retired as a branch manager with Central Bank, he worked as a clerk at PAU, Ludhiana, as well.
Often called an “obscure” literary critic, Megh, when contacted, said “those who work honestly also sometimes get awards”, before signing off, saying he was too tired for an interview. But as soon as the announcement of the award for Megh came, the Hindi literary world in Punjab was abuzz with anecdotes. Like how once Megh’s teacher Hazari Prasad Dwivedi said to him, “Ramesh, you have read a lot, now sit down and it is time to chew on it.”
A renowned Hindi writer shares another anecdote: “Once he wrote something in Hindi and showed it to his teacher. Looking at the jargons, he said now translate it into Hindi also so we can understand a bit.”
However, Prof Chaman Lal, former head, Department of Indian Languages, JNU, said Megh is one of the few Hindi literary critics who is most updated with all discourses going on in the world of modern literary criticism.
The award, which includes a cheque for Rs 1 lakh, will be presented on February 12.
Talking of Nachhattar, he was the first in his family to attend school. Writing since 1970s, Nachhattar has six books of short stories and six novels to his credit.
“It looks nice when your creation gets recognition,” he told The Tribune. He said he writes about a common man’s social problems. His last two novels are set in Delhi. “Slow Down” is about the global slowdown of 2008 and how it kills dreams of youngsters in a metropolitan city.
