By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi: Noted litterateur Dr Naiyer Masud has been selected for the 17th Saraswati Samman for his collection of short stories, “Taoos Chaman Ki Myna.”
The award, established by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991, is recognised as one of the most prestigious literary honours in the country given every year to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language.
More than 21 books and almost 200 articles in Urdu and Persian have been written, edited and published by Dr Masud.
In his award-winning collection of short stories, Naiyer Masud’s treatment of the ideas of variation and change, especially towards decline, as constitutive of existence, is impressive, according to a release by the Birla Foundation here on Thursday.
Masud, 72, did his post-graduation in Persian literature and his Ph.D. in Urdu from Allahabad University. He wrote some poetry, short stories and plays in his younger days.
In the past 20 years he has emerged as one of the major Urdu short story writers on the Indian subcontinent.
The award carries a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh. The jury presided over by Dr GB Patnaik, former Chief Justice of India, considered works in 22 Indian languages during 1997-2006. In the past, the litterateurs honoured with the award included Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramakanta Rath and Vijay Tendulkar.