Narayan Desai to be awarded

Eminent Gujarati writer Narayan Mahadev Desai, who shot to limelight with his Gandhi Katha, and famed Hindi and Sanskrit scholar Rammurti Sharma have been selected for the prestigious Bharatiya Jnanpith-constituted 18th and 19th Moortidevi Awards respectively.

Desai will receive the award for the year 2004 for his notable creation, entitled “Maroon Jeewan Aaj Mari Vaani”, which is based on the life, philosohy and work of Mahatma Gandhi. The decision to confer the awards on the two eminent litterateurs was taken at a meeting of the Moortidevi Selection Board, chaired by Karnataka Governor TN Chaturvedi on Wednesday.

Desai (83) has worked with Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and Jayprakash Narayan and is a recipient of several awards, including the Sahita Akademi Award, the Gujarati Sahitya Akademi Award and the Darshak Award.

Dr Sharma will get the award for the year 2005 for his famous work “Bharatiya Darshan Ki Chintadhara”, which is considered to be the encyclopedia of Indian philosophy from the Rig Veda to the modern times.

Sharma has been bestowed several awards, including the UP Sanskrit Akademi Award which he won thrice, Mahavir Samiti Award and Delhi Sanskrit Academy Award. He attended the International Sanskrit Conference in Mexico (1982), Philadelphia (1984) and Melbourne (1994).