Bal Sahitya Puraskar goes to Govt. School Teacher in Andhra

A teacher in a government school in Andhra Pradesh has been announced as one of the winners of the national award for literature, the Bal Sahitya Puraskar. Naramshetty Umamaheswara Rao won the award for his novel in Telugu, titled “Ananda Lokam” or Happy Society when translated into English. The puraskars, or awards, are given by the Sahitya Akademi every year to the best pieces of literature in a number of categories, differentiated by the type of piece of writing that they are, namely short stories, novels, plays and poetry. These categories are repeated for each of the 22 languages that the Akademi wishes to honour and preserve. The final selection of winners is done by a three-member panel of judges.

Of particular note in the current year’s awards being declared is that Rao is the only winner in all categories for the Telugu language. He currently resides in the town of Parvatipuram in Vizianagram district of Andhra Pradesh. The award for the winners will include a 50,000-rupee cash prize delivered as a cheque, which will be placed in a casket along with an engraved copper plaque commemorating the writers’ achievement. The date for the awards ceremony to take place will be the 14th of November, 2018, which also happens to be Children’s Day.

The Sahitya Akademi was first set up in 1954 as a India’s most distinguished institution dedicated to promoting literature across the country, and is dedicated to the preservation of 24 languages in this country.