Ramesh Dave and Prof Gopi Chand Narang were awarded at the second edition of the Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman ceremony for their outstanding contribution to literature
In these modern times, we are ignoring Hindi and other regional languages. The Indian writers should be given their due recognition and should be applauded for their outstanding contribution to the field of literature,” said Dr Kusum Ansal, while addressing the gathering at the second edition of the Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman ceremony in the Capital. The honours, which carry a cash reward of `2,50,000 each, were conferred by Delhi’s Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit. The awards were presented to Ramesh Dave in Hindi and Prof Gopi Chand Narang in Urdu, in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the field of literature. The awards, now in their second year, have been instituted by Ansal Properties & Infrastructure ltd (Ansal API). The Kusumanjali Foundation, one of the numerous organisations supported by the company, and has been established by writer Dr Kusum Ansal. This year, the Foundation invited nominations to felicitate the literary works in Hindi and Urdu. The selection board for Hindi was headed by author Alok Mehta, who selected Ramesh Dave. The selection board for Urdu was headed by Syed Muhammad Ashraf, who selected Prof Gopi Chand Narang.
The Kusumanjali Foundation runs with an objective of promoting literary works of budding writers in Hindi and other regional languages. The criteria for these awards comprises all genres including biography, drama, fiction and poetry. Every year, the trust will honour works written in Hindi and the second award will be given on a literary work published in one of the remaining recognised Indian languages mentioned in the Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution. Both the awards will be given to the works published during the last five years.