I'm brimming with sadness, writing alleviates pain: Novelist Anees Salim

The writer won Sahitya Akademi award for his novel The Blind Lady's Descendants

Novelist ANEES SALIM bagged the Sahitya Akademi award this year for his novel The Blind Lady’s Descendants, but as usually, he refused to be present for the prize-distribution ceremony. Salim talks to Uttaran Das Gupta about an inexplicable sadness that motivates him to write. Edited excerpts:

Congratulations on winning the Sahitya Akademi award. You refused to attend the award ceremony saying that a book should be honoured, not the author. Can you explain this a little more? How do you distinguish between honouring one and the other?

Thank you. Well, I have always considered myself as a backstage artist and I am