Translations, debut works make the cut

Translation works including Perumal Murugan's twin novels, Trial by Silence and Lonely Harvest, and Manoranjan Byapari's There's Gunpowder in the Air are among the five books that have been shortlisted for this year’s JCB Prize for Literature.

Murugan's books have been translated from Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, and Byapari's novel has been translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha. 

The shortlist also features two debut works — Roshan Ali's Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction, and Madhuri Vijay’s The Far Field, as well as award-winning writer Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's My Father's Garden. 

The jury, chaired by filmmaker and environmentalist Pradip Krishen, noted that the five selected works were “bold” and shared “a deep sense of justice and injustice”. “Their private struggles help illuminate larger themes, including patriarchy in rural southern India, religious and political conflict in Kashmir, and social and sexual marginalisation in eastern India. Taken together these novels remind us that fiction remains the most powerful way for a society to examine its fundamental concerns,” Krishen said. 

Now in its second edition, the Prize carries an amount of Rs 25 lakh, and is awarded each year to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer. It is the most expensive Indian award for writing. Authors and translators of all the shortlisted titles will each be awarded Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 50,000 respectively.

The final winner will be announced on November 2. In case the winning entry is a translation, the translator will be awarded Rs 10 lakh. — PTI