Ruskin Bond receives Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Lifetime Achievement

Legendary author Ruskin Bond was given the Life time Achievement Award at the second edition of the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman awards by The New Indian Express in New Delhi on Friday.

The 90-year-old Bond, who wrote his first book The Room on the Roof at the age of 17, has brought joy to children through more than 500 titles including novels, short stories and essays. Several of his works have been adapted into acclaimed films.

Bond sent a video message from Mussoorie, saying, “This is really a happy moment for me. Here I am in my 91st year receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award and I only wish I could be with you. I am sending my beloved granddaughter Srishti to receive the award because I am certainly not going to let it pass me by. Thank you for the citation and the honour.”

Aishwarya Jha won the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Fiction for The Scent of Fallen Stars. Jha’s debut novel traces two stories of love and longing separated by a little more than two decades.

Veteran journalist Neerja Chowdhury won the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Non-fiction for How Prime Ministers Decide. Chowdhury’s work offers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at how six Indian Prime Ministers — after Jawaharlal Nehru and before Narendra Modi — made key decisions that shaped the country.

“Ramnath Goenka was a trend-setter and a man who had the courage to stand up,” Neerja Chowdhury said in her acceptance speech in which she expressed her joy at being conferred a literary award.

Swami Swaroopanandaji, Global Head, Chinmaya Mission, graciously consented to be the chief guest.

The awards are named in honour of Ramnath Goenka, a doyen of the Indian print industry and visionary of The New Indian Express Group.

In the non-fiction category, there were three other books in the shortlist — The Day I Became A Runner by Sohini Chattopadhyay, The Yellow Sparrow by Santa Khurai, and H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit.

The fiction section had two other contenders on the shortlist — Acts of God by Kanan Gill, and Western Lane by Chetna Maroo.

The jury also had the difficult task of zeroing in on one among a shortlist of literary luminaries for the Lifetime Achievement Award, the top honour instituted in the name of the group’s iconic founder by Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Sonthalia.

Chaired by Pavan K Varma, former Ambassador and author, the external jury consisted of former foreign secretary and writer Vikas Swarup and the popular writer on history Manu S Pillai. They were joined by an internal jury comprising Editor Santwana Bhattacharya and Consulting Editor Ravi Shankar.

The first edition of the awards was announced at the Odisha Literary Festival 2023 to honour wordsmiths and their invaluable contribution to the world of literature.

For a lifetime of speaking against discrimination, Perumal Murugan, the author of Madhorubagan (One Part Woman) and Pookuzhi (Pyre), was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Literary Excellence.

Researcher and writer Anirudh Kanisetti won the award in the Best Non-Fiction category for his relentless commitment to unravelling the hidden stories of India’s past and bringing history to life in his work Lords of the Deccan.

The literary star of 2023, Devika Rege, whose debut novel Quarterlife‘s depth and maturity astounded one and all, won the award in the Best Fiction category.

The shortlisting of literary works by authors was done by a jury headed by the late Bibek Debroy. (Courtesy: TNIE)