Dogri writer’s ‘Bhagirath’ gets Sahitya Akademi award

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 6

Dogri writer Inderjeet Kesar’s novel ‘Bhagirath’ has been selected for this year’s Sahitya Akademi Award.

Talking about the achievement, Kesar said he feels delighted and honoured as contemporary Dogri literature was getting recognition across the world.

Kesar, who has 21 books to his credit during his four-decade-long writing career, said the future of Dogri shall be bright only if the young generation was encouraged to write and speak in their language.

“I feel honoured that the Sahitya Akademi has chosen my novel for the award. ‘Bhagirath’ touches social issues confronting people in rural areas, which was first published in 2013,” said Kesar while talking to The Tribune.

The award will be conferred upon him at New Delhi on January 29, 2019. Inderjeet Kesar’s book is among the six novels that have been selected for the award this year from across the country.

Kesar, who retired as deputy secretary in 2004, said he started writing in 1967. In 1998, he published his first book and since then 21 books, including six novels, 11 poetry, two short stories, one essay and one devotional song, have hit the stands. His 22nd book is in the process of printing.

“I could not print my work during my service because of time constraints. So, I kept my writing to myself. In 1998, my wife Savitri Kesar encouraged me to get my work published. Since then I’ve tried to get a book published every year,” the Dogri writer said.

He further said since the establishment of the Dogri Sanstha in 1944, the Dogri literature had travelled a long distance. “In the past three decades, due to efforts of various groups and the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, people have begun to take interest in the Dogri literature,” the writer added.

21 books to his credit 

Dogri writer Inderjeet Kesar has written 21 books during his four-decade-long career. For the past 15 years, Kesar’s book ‘Matreyan’ was being taught to BA students. At present, his novel ‘Moorto’ is a part of the BA course, while ‘Jaul is being taught to MA students. Apart from these, he has compiled two other books for the Sahitya Akademi — ‘Dogri Geet’ and ‘Ekkaani Natak’. He has also translated two Hindi books of Rabindranath Tagore — Bal Sahitya Part-I and Bal Sahitya Part-II — to Dogri