Punjabi poet Randhir wins Akademi Yuva Puraskar

New Delhi, June 15

The Sahitya Akademi on Saturday announced the names of 23 writers, including English writer K Vaishali and Hindi author Gaurav Pandey, who will receive the prestigious Yuva Puraskar in as many languages.

“Khat Jo Likhno Reh Gaye”, a book of Punjabi poetry written by Randhir, has been chosen for this year’s Yuva Puraskar.

The awards were announced after a meeting of the executive board of Sahitya Akademi held today under the chairmanship of its president Madhav Kaushik.

The award for English language book has been given to “Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian And Dyslexic In India,” a memoir written by Vaishali.

The National Academy of Letters also announced the names of 24 winners of the Bal Sahitya Puraskar for 2024. Kuldeep Singh Deep’s work “Main Jallianwala Bagh Bolda Ha” (play) has been selected for the Bal Sahitya Puraskar in Punjabi language. “Kukdoo Kadoon”, a book of poetry by Bishan Singh ‘Dardi’ got the award for work in Dogri language.

The Akademi also announced that Avtar Singh, a retired professor of Punjabi, had been selected for the Bhasha Samman award for the Northern region for the year 2023.