Saraswati Samman 2013

The Saraswati Samman (Hindi: सरस्वती सम्मान) is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India. The award consists of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a plaque. The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. Candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winners.

Malayalam poet Sugathakumari has been selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman 2012 for her poetry collection ‘Manalezhuthu’ (The Writing on the Sand). The award, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation, carries a purse of Rs.10 lakh, citation, and plaque.

The 79-year-old writer was selected for the honour by a 13-member jury, headed by former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti, after considering works published in 22 languages during 2002-2011, a statement here on Monday said. The award is given annually to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language during the past 10 years.

Ms. Sugathakumari has to her credit 15 volumes of poetry and six collections of prose during a literary career spanning five decades. “Sugathakumari has established herself as a major poet in Malayalam with a unique voice of her own characterised by emotional empathy, humanist sensitivity, and moral alertness,” the statement said. The award-winning collection is a book of 27 poems published in 2006.