PEN/Nabokov Award to Vinod Kumar Shukla

• 03 Mar 2023

Why In News?

On March 2, 2023, Chhattisgarh's senior writer and eminent contemporary Hindi litterateur Vinod Kumar Shukla was awarded the prestigious PEN/Nabokov Award for 2023 for achievement in international literature at a ceremony organized by PEN America in New York.

Key points

• Hindi story writer, novelist and poet Vinod Kumar Shukla is the first Indian-Asian origin writer to be conferred with this highest honour. Vinod Kumar Shukla was given an amount of 50 thousand dollars (about 41 lakh rupees) in this award.
• This honor is given to those litterateurs who make a mark in international literature, who look at their traditions, modernity, present and history with a new insight.
• in International LiteratureThe Pen/Nabokov Award for Achievement, commonly known as the Pen/Nabokov Prize, is awarded biennially by Pen America to writers, primarily novelists.
• The award is funded by the Vladimir Nabokov Foundation, established by the American opera singer and translator Dmitri Nabokov. It is said to be one of the most prestigious PEN Awards.
• Born in 1937 in Rajnandgaon in the then Madhya Pradesh and present-day Chhattisgarh, Vinod Kumar Shukla is recognized for his distinctive writing style. His style is often considered closer to 'magical realism', i.e., one that holds 'reality' together with 'imaginativeness'.
• His poetry and his writings describe the irony of the Indian middle class in simple language. His first novel, Naukar Ki Kameez, introduced decades ago to the taste of a new kind of prose. Eminent filmmaker Mani Kaul also made a memorable art film by the same name on 'Naukar Ki Kameez'.
• The main novels of 87-year-old Vinod Kumar Shukla include 'Naukar Ki Kameez' (1979), 'Khilega to Dekhenge' (1996), '"Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rahti Thi" (1997), "Hari Ghas ki Chhapper Wali Jhodi Aur Bauna Pahar" (2011), "Yasi Rasat" (2017), "Ek Chuppi Jagah" (2018) etc.
• Apart from this, Laghbhag Jaihind' (1971), 'Woh Aadmi Chala Gaya Naya Garam Kot Pahinkar Vichar Ki Liye' (1981), 'Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega' (1992), 'Atirikt nahi' (2000), 'Kavita Se Lambi Kavita' (2001), 'Akash Dharti Ko Khatkata Hai' (2006), 'Kabhi Ke Baad Abhi' (2012) etc. are some of his major poetry collections.
• Known for his distinctive linguistic style and emotional depth, Shukla was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999 for 'Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rahti Thi'.
• Apart from the Sahitya Akademi Award, he has received awards like Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Fellowship (Madhya Pradesh Government), Raza Award (Madhya Pradesh Arts Council), National Maithilisharan Gupta Samman (Madhya Pradesh Government), Hindi Gaurav Samman (Uttar Pradesh Hindi Institute, Uttar Pradesh Government) have met