Key Highlights
- Namita Gokhale received the prestigious Bhartendu Harishchandra Lifetime Achievement Award.
- English categories honored creators in fiction, poetry, non‑fiction and translation, with Ruskin Bond and Sarojini Naidu among the eponymous award names.
- Hindi segment celebrated Premchand, Kabir, Rahul Sankrityayan and Mahadevi Verma awards, highlighting works ranging from fiction to translation.
- Special recognitions were bestowed upon Mahadev Toppo (Kalidas Award) and Parag Pawan (Vivekanand Youth Award).
- The award ceremony will be part of the Banaras Literature Festival scheduled for 30 January–1 February 2026 in Varanasi.
Detailed Insights
The Banaras Literature Festival announced the roster of laureates for its second edition of the Book Awards, a pan‑Indian initiative that acknowledges superior writing in English, Hindi and other regional tongues. The ceremony, slated for the festival’s opening days, will spotlight both seasoned stalwarts and emerging voices.
Namita Gokhale, an acclaimed novelist and one of the co‑founders of the Jaipur Literature Festival, was conferred the Bhartendu Harishchandra Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her decades‑long contribution to Indian letters.
In the English track, the Ruskin Bond Award for Fiction went to Shinie Antony for Eden Abandoned: The Story of Lilith. The Sarojini Naidu Award for Poetry was awarded to Abhay K for his piece “The Hanuman Chalisa”. Peggy Mohan earned the Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for Non‑Fiction with Father Tongue, Motherland: The Birth of Language in South Asia, while Arunava Sinha secured the Rabindranath Tagore Translation Award for the English rendering of the Bengali work Limited / Unlimited.
The Hindi division saw Mamta Kalia win the Premchand Award for Fiction for Doorasth Dampatya. Poet Udayan Vajpeyi received the Kabir Award for Poetry for “Pagal Ganitagya Ki Kavitayein”. The Rahul Sankrityayan Award for Non‑Fiction honored J Sushil’s Dukh Ki Duniya Bheetar Hai, and Rajgopal Singh Verma was recognized with the Mahadevi Verma Translation Award for his rendition of 1857 Ki Kranti Ka Awadh.
Special commendations included the Kalidas Award for Indian Languages, presented to writer Mahadev Toppo, and the Vivekanand Award for Youth, given to young author Parag Pawan for his vibrant contributions.
Key Concepts
- Bhartendu Harishchandra Lifetime Achievement Award: A distinguished honor named after the 19th‑century playwright, bestowed for a lifelong impact on Indian literature.
- Translation Award: Recognizes excellence in rendering literary works across linguistic boundaries, preserving nuance and cultural context.
- Youth Literary Award: Celebrates emerging writers under a certain age who display originality and promise in their oeuvre.