Mangaluru: Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Puraskar 2021 winners declared

Mangaluru: World Konkani Centre announced its annual Konkani literary awards, Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar, for the year 2021. The Konkani Bhas ani Sanskriti Prathistan, Mangaluru, in a media release said, the literary works of Antony Barkur, Uday Narasinha Mhambro, and Suresh Jaywant Borkar have won the awards for the year 2021.

Massam, a collection of Konkani short stories by Antony Barkur (Antony Prakash D’Souza) has been chosen as the Best Konkani Book of the Year (Prose) for Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar 2021.

Indradhonu Udeum a collection of Konkani poems by Uday Narasinha Mhambro has been selected as the Best Konkani Book of the Year (Poetry) for Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Kavita Kruti Puraskar 2021.

Suresh Jaywant Borkar has been identified as the recipient for the Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Jeevan Siddhi Samman 2021 for his lifetime contribution to Konkani language pedagogy, grammar, and lexicography.

The awards carry prize money of Rs. 1.00 lac each along with an award memento which will be bestowed on the recipient at the Annual Vishwa Konkani Puraskar Ceremony to be held at a future date which will be announced soon. The awards have been sponsored by T V Mohandas Pai in the name of his beloved mother Vimala V Pai, and are awarded every year since 2010.

The awards are based on a two-tier evaluation process: Firstly, a preliminary panel consisting of 16 referees recommends the books shortlisted from among the published books during the award period. Based on these recommendations, a five-member jury makes the final selections for the award.

Award Jury for the year 2021, consisting of advocate Uday Bhembre, Dr Kiran Budkuley, Payyanur Ramesh Pai, Melvyn Rodrigues and Gokuldas Prabhu deliberated on the recommendations of referees and made the final selection based on merit of the literary works in question.

World Konkani Centre founded by Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskriti Prathistan, a premier Konkani organisation established in the year 1996 in the leadership of Vishwa Konkani Sardar Basti Vaman Shenoy, has been relentlessly working towards preservation of Konkani language and culture since inception.