Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo and Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr are awarded the highest literary honour of India, the Jnanpith Award on Tuesday, December 7.

Damodar Mauzo, who was also awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983, received the Jnanpith Award for 2021 and Nilmani Phookan bagged the award for last year.

About Damodar Mauzo

Born on August 1, 1994, Damodar Mauzo is popular for his collection of short stories Teresa’s Man and Other Stories from Goa. These short stories written by him was nominated for the Frank O’Connor International award in 2015. Apart from this, he was honoured by the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for the novel Karmelin and for Tsunami Simon, he bagged the Vimala V Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar in 2011.

The Konkani writer also actively took part in the historic Opinion Poll that was conducted in Goa in 1976 that decided the political status of the newly liberated Goa. He also played a major role in Goa’s successful movement Konkani Porjecho Avaz. Damodar is the co-founder and co-curator of the Goa Arts and Literary Festival.

About Nilmani Phookan Jr

Padma Shree Nilmani Phookan is a renowned Assamese poet who is popular for works like Kobita, Surya Henu Nami Ahe Nodiyedi, and Gulapi Jamur Lagna. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese in 1981 for his poetry collection, Kavita.

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In 1990, Nilmani was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honour in India. He was also awarded the Assam Valley Literary Award in 1997.

About Jnanpith Award

It is the highest and oldest Indian literary award given out annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to writers for their outstanding contribution to literature. Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961 and awarded only to authors writing in Indian languages and is not awarded posthumously.

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