Date:19/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/19/stories/2007101953000400.htm

New Delhi

Sanskriti Awards announced

Staff Reporter

To be presented by Magsaysay Award winner P. Sainath

NEW DELHI: The Sanskriti Awards for 2007 in the fields of literature, journalism, art, performing arts and cultural achievement have been announced. The winners are: Jyotshna Kalita for literature; K. A. Shaji for journalism; K. P. Reji for art; Bijayini Satpathy for dance; and Vipin Vijay for cultural achievement.

The awards will be presented by Magsaysay Award winner P. Sainath, Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu, on November 2 at India International Centre. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs.25,000.

Jyotshna Kalita, a Master in English Literature from Delhi University, is an Assamese poet with a distinct tone and theme. Her two collections of poetry, Saralrekhar Dare (Like a Straight Line, 1997) and Kathan (Words Spoken, 2005), have been very well received. Her enthusiasm to reach out to the masses can be seen in the conversational style she uses.

Thiruvananthapuram-based journalist K. A. Shaji writes on environment, politics, human rights, rural distress and flawed developmental perspectives. He is concerned with bringing to the fore issues relating to the poor and the marginalised. He has been Tehelka magazine’s Kerala correspondent. Artist K. P. Reji’s paintings exude a matter-of-fact quality and simplicity. His work is generally considered multifaceted and an analysis of the individual’s relationship to environment.

Odissi dance has been the focus of Bijayini Satpathy’s life since she was a child. She trained under Guru Gandhar Pradhan, Guru Pagal Swain and Guru Kanduri Charan and an insatiable thirst for knowledge brought her to Nrityagram in 1993. As director of Odissi Gurukul at Nrityagram, Bijayini is involved in creating new training techniques. The winner for cultural achievement, Vipin Vinay, hails from Kannur in Kerala. He studied filmmaking at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Calcutta and has made documentaries and promotional films. Two of his films, “Kshurasyadhara” and “Hawamahal”, have been acquired for the permanent archives at the U.S Library of Congress.