Kamala Kant Tripathy will be the recipient of the IFFCO Literary Award for the year 2016. The award started in 2011 in the name of famous litterateur SriLal Shukla is given every year for outstanding writing on the life in the countryside.
Tripathy was judged the most suitable by the selection committee keeping in their mind that his literary works mirror the peasants’ movement. He has penned well-known novels such as “Pahighar” and “Bedakhal”. His third novel is on its way of publication, reads a press release from IFFCO.
Announcing the news IFFCO MD tweeted” Kamala Kant Tripathy was chosen as his writings have concerns of farmers at their centre.” “Antaral” and “Janaki Bua” are other two collections of stories to his credit.
The Selection Committee was headed by Devi Prasad Tripathy and other members included Murli Manohar Prasad Singh, Naresh Saxena, Shrimati Mamta Kalia and Dinesh Kumar Shukla. The selection committee lauded Kamala Kant Tripathy’s writings reflecting concerns of the rural poor.
Expressing his happiness at the choice of Tripathy by the Selection Committee, IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi said “this award is given every year to such writers who capture the life and struggle of farmers.”
The Award offers by far the highest amount of Rs 11 lakh in the field of literature. Vidya Sagar Nautial, Shri Shekhar Joshi,Shri Sanjeev, Shri Mithileshwar and Shri Ashtabhuja Shukla had been the recipients of the award in the past.
The award would be bestowed on Kamala Kant Tripathy in a function on 31st January, 2017, read the press release.
A cooperative federation of about 36 thousand cooperatives IFFCO has been active preserving the art and culture of the country in order to improve the life of farmers in a holistic manner. It has published books such as “azadi ki agni shikhayen” and some other books in the past. The IFFCO Board instituted the award in 2011.
Srilal Shukla in whose name the award has been founded was a versatile writer capable of portraying the life of rural as well as semi-urban areas in its totality and made a scathing attack on the exploitative system prevailing in the countryside. His book Rag Darbari was adjudged one of the 100 top books of the world by the weekly magazine outlook.