Central Sahitya Akademi award for 2 Dakshina Kannada writers
MANGALURU: TWO well-known authors — Edwin Joseph Francis D’Souza from Mangaluru and Bolwar Mohammed Kunhi from Puttur — have been chosen for the prestigious Central Sahitya Akademi Award for 2016 in Konkani and Kannada languages, respectively.
This is the first time that two writers from Dakshina Kannada have been recognised for the prestigious national award in the same year.
Edwin D’Souza has won the award for his Konkani novel Kallem Bhangaar (Black Gold), while Bolwar Mohammed Kunhi won the award for his 1,110-page Kannada work Swatantryada Ota (Run of Independence). Kunhi is the only writer to have got the Central Sahitya Academy award twice. Earlier he got it for his children’s novel Gandhi Thata Bapu hege Aadaru.
Kunhi was born in 1951 in a village in Puttur called Bolwaru. He is a short story writer, novelist, playwright and scriptwriter, and one of the pioneers to have introduced Muslim culture in Kannada prose.
Won award at the right time, says D’Souza
D’Souza is elated after winning the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award for Konkani.
He said, “There could not be a better award when given at the right time and without lobbying. What is more important is to get an award when you feel that you deserve it. In my case all these three factors played their role.”
He was born in Valencia, Mangaluru in June 1948 and studied in St Aloysius (Autonomous) College, Mangaluru. He holds a degree in commerce, a postgraduate diploma in Konkani and five online diplomas from the Bible School, US, in Christian Theology.
His first short story in Konkani was published in 1964. Since then he has penned 33 novels, over 100 short stories, columns and satires. Many of his short stories have been translated into English, Kannada, Hindi, Kashmiri, Malayalam and Tamil.
He has won 13 state, inter-state and international awards for literature. His acclaimed short story A Cup of Hot Coffee was published by Late Khushwant Singh in his anthology, Our Favorite Indian Short Stories. Several of his short stories have been published by Kendra Sahitya Akademi, in its publications Prateechi and Indian Literature. The Goa Konkani Akademi published his 450-page novel Kallem Bhangaar in Devanagari script.
His spouse of 41 years Jane D’Souza was immensely happy. “I would consider it as the best-ever Christmas I ever had in my life so far. Sometime I wondered how he can write so much and so effortlessly without being distracted. Now I know he was born to write.”
Speaking to Express from his home in Koramangala in Bengaluru Kunhi said, “I could not have been better honoured. I had no clue, I am also honoured that the Akadami has recognised my work not once but twice, earlier in 2009 for my children’s literature. Kannada is a beautiful language and can effectively express and portray literature in any culture, which is the strength and the beauty of the language”.