New Delhi: The Jnanpith Award Selection Committee announced the 56th and 57th Jnanpith Awards for the year 2021 and 2022 respectively. For the year 2021, it has been announced to give to Assamese litterateur Nilamani Phukan and for the year 2022 to Konkani litterateur Damodar Moujo. Born on September 10, 1933 in Golaghat district of Assam, Sapphire
Phoonkan is an Assamese-language Indian poet and storyteller. His canvas is vast, his imagination is mythical, his voice speaks of folk-urgency, his concerns range from political to cosmic, contemporary to primitive. The scenarios he cites are epic and original. He speaks of fire and water, planet and star, forest and desert, man and mountain, time and space, war and peace, life and death, yet he has not only a sage-like contemplative detachment, but with urgency There is also a deep sense of pain and loss. He has written thirteen books of poetry.
Some of his important works are Surya Heno Nami Ahe Ai Nadiidi, Manas-Pratima and Phuli Thaka, Suryamukhi Fultor Phale etc. This decision was taken in a meeting of the selection committee chaired by well-known story writer and Jnanpith awardee litterateur Smt. Pratibha Rai. Other members of the selection committee in the meeting were Madhav Kaushik, Syed Mohammad Ashraf, Prof. Harish Trivedi, Prof. Suranjan Das, Prof. Purushottam Bilmale, Chandrakant Patil, Dr. S. Manivalan, Prabha Verma, Prof. Asghar Wajahat and Madhusudan Anand.
The 57th Jnanpith Award for the year 2022 has also been announced. Renowned Konkani writer Damodar Moujo. Damodar Mouzou is a Goan novelist, story writer, critic and essayist. He has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award (Konkani) in 1983 for his novel Carmelin. Damodar Mauso was born on 1 August 1944. So far 4 collections of his stories have been published.