NASHIK: The prestigious Janasthan Award in Marathi Literature given by Kusumagraj Pratishthan was given to renowned Marathi litterateur Madhu Mangesh Karnik on Saturday. The ceremony was held in the presence of a few dignitaries at the Vishakha Hall of the Kusumagraj Memorial. The award was instituted by the Kusumagraj Pratishthan in Nashik in 1991 with an objective to honour litterateurs and artists who have made special contribution to the Marathi literature.
The biennial award carries Rs 1 lakh cash, a memento and a citation. The award is presented on Kusumagraj’s birth anniversary, February 27. Accordingly, the Janasthan Award 2021 was announced in January to Madhu Mangesh Karnik, a famous writer and former president of the foundation. Due to pandemic, the date of award presentation was also announced to be March 10. However, the programme was postponed as Covid cases had began to rise again.
The award was presented by President of the Foundation Justice Narendra Chapalgaonkar to Karnik. Born on April 28, 1933, Karnik has written many novels and poems. He was the president of the 64th All India Marathi Literary Meet which was held in Ratnagiri in 1990.
The event was held in the presence of forty to fifty invitees following the rules of the government and all the rules of Covid-19 approoeiate behaviour. For other audiences, the event was live on the Kusumagraj Pratishthan’s web page. Noted litterateurs like Vijay Tendulkar, Vinda Karandikar, Indira Sant to name a few had received the Janasthan award in the past.
