Author Jayant Kaikini, translator Tejaswini Niranjana win The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018

In a glittering award ceremony, the US $25,000 DSC Prize was awarded to Jayant Kaikini and Tejaswini Niranjana along with a unique trophy by eminent writer Ruskin Bond. No Presents Please originally written in Kannada by noted author Jayant Kaikini and translated into English by eminent translator Tejaswini Niranjana has been announced as the winner of the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018 at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet in Kolkata, India. The DSC Prize has always encouraged writing in regional languages and translations, and this is the first time that a translated work has won the prize.

This magnificent book gives us a protagonist that is vivid yet full of contradictions, spirited yet lonely, embattled yet big-hearted – the city of Mumbai. Empathy and survival are the constant, co-dependent themes that unify every strand of this extraordinary book, creating a shimmering mosaic of a conflicted city that is as kind as it is, at times, cruel. The cracks in the curtains of the ordinary open up to possibilities that might not have existed, but for this city where the surreal meets the everyday.

The six shortlisted authors and books for the DSC Prize this year were Jayant Kaikini: No Presents Please (Translated by Tejaswini Niranjana), Kamila Shamsie: Home Fire, Manu Joseph: Miss Laila Armed And Dangerous, Mohsin Hamid: Exit West, Neel Mukherjee: A State Of Freedom and Sujit Saraf: Harilal & Sons.

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018 was judged by a diverse and distinguished five member jury panel comprising eminent figures drawn from the international literary fraternity who have worked in or around South Asian literature and issues.

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First Published: Jan 26, 2019 07:52 IST