L K Advani felicitates third "Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman" 2014

The 3rd Annual Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman 2014, an annual initiative by Kusumanjali Foundation, was recently organized to recognize contributions by renowned authors in the field of Hindi and Bengali literature.

Kusumanjali Foundation, founded and established by the well-known writer Dr. (Mrs.) Kusum Ansal seeks to promote and support the artistic, literary, and cultural activities in the country.

L K Advani, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha was the Chief Guest at the occasion to give away the awards to Smt. Simmi Harshita for her literary work in Hindi titled "Jaltarang" and Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay for his literary contribution in Bengali titled "Dhanapatir Sinhaljatra". The award winners received a cheque for Rs 2,50,000/- the citation, a shawl and the award statuette.

As part of Foundation's promotional programmes, the Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman was established in 2011 to recognize the talent of renowned authors in the field of literature. Every year, two awards are given to creative works in the genres of literature comprising fiction, short story, poetry and drama. Nominations from a large number of literary institutions, authors and experts were invited to nominate outstanding literary works published during the last five-year period, i.e. 2009-2013 for the Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman for 2014.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. (Mrs.) Kusum Ansal, Prolific Writer and Founder - Kusumanjali Foundation said, "The Kusumanjali Sahitya Samman was initiated with a view to recognize the merit and standards of excellence achieved by eminent authors and scholars in their respective field of literature. Our country holds a distinctive linguistic and literary history. The award-winning texts borrow cultural inspirations from the author's mother tongue and are a rich source of contemporary yet classical Indian writing. Congratulations to the recipients of the Sahitya Samman Award. We hope to recognize more such talent, year on year!"

The Governing Board of the Kusumanjali Foundation, Chaired by Sushil Ansal and other members including Prof. Indranath Choudhury, Prof. Syed Shahid Mahdi, Kusum Ansal, Sunita Jain, Kashmi Nath Memani, Archana Luthra and Dr. H. K. Kaul (Member-Secretary) along with the Hindi selection board Head, Alok Mehta (a renowned author and media personality) and the Bengal selection board head Mahasweta Devi, the renowned Bengali author bestowed the awards to Simmi Harshita and Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay for their literary contributions.