Author Nayantara Sahgal to be feted with the inaugural Loknete Bhai Vaidya Smruti Gaurav Puraskar

Noted author Nayantara Sahgal is set to be the first recipient of the Loknete Bhai Vaidya Smruti Gaurav Puraskar which will be conferred upon the writer on 2 April, 2019 for her contribution to Indian literature at the hands of veteran socialist trade union leader, Baba Adhav. Sahgal has authored several novels including the work Rich Like Us which earned her a Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986. However, the author, who has always been vocal about her stance on the increasing intolerance in the country returned the award in 2015 in protest against the silence of the Akademi following the death of three writers at the hands of vigilantes. Recently, the author was also removed from the list of attendees at the 92nd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Yavatmal following threats made by the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) cadre. [caption id=“attachment_5989261” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Nayantara Sahgal will be conferred with the Loknete Bhai Vaidya Gaurav Puraskar in Pune on 2 April, 2019. Image via Twitter/@ISapnaMishra[/caption] Nevertheless, Sahgal continues to be regarded as one of the prominent literary figures of 20th century India. The writer was longlisted for the JCB prize in 2018 for her novella When the Moon Shines by Day, published by Speaking Tiger and has also been awarded the Lal Ded National Award in 2018, the Sinclair Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Some of her celebrated works include her autobiography Prison and Chocolate Cake, Plans for Departure and Lesser Breeds.  The Loknete Bhai Vaidya Smruti Gaurav Puraskar, that Sahgal will be honoured with, has been set up in memory of the socialist leader, Bhai Vaidya who was appointed as the Home Minister of Maharashtra in 1978. He was also responsible for reviving the Socialist Party of India and continued to be its president till the last few years before his death in 2018. The author of non-fiction works such as Nehru’s India: Essays on the Maker of a Nation, the 91-year-old will be feted with the award carrying a sum of Rs. 25,000 in Pune.