KK Birla Foundation to give Bihari Puraskar to Meena

Dhooni Tape Teer, a novel based on the century-old incident of killing of the tribals of Banswara by the British, has been selected for the Bihari Puraskar for the year 2012.

Dhooni Tape Teer, a novel based on the century-old incident of killing of the tribals of Banswara by the British, has been selected for the Bihari Puraskar for the year 2012.

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The K K Birla Foundation announced the award for Hariram Meena for his 2008 work that depicts the exploitation, struggle and sacrifices as well as various dimensions of the life and culture of the south Rajasthan tribals.

The Bihari Puraskar is one of the three literary awards instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991 and is awarded to the writers from Rajasthan.

The annual award for outstanding literary works in Hindi or Rajasthani carries R1 lakh, a citation and a plaque.

Born into a tribal family of Sawai Madhopur, Meena did his postgraduation from the University of Rajasthan.

He has published two anthologies, one novel, an epic, and a travelogue apart from the many poems, articles and interviews in literary journals.

Meena is also the recipient of the Mira Award, the highest accolade from Rajasthan Sahitya Academy.

After devoting years in research on nuances of the battle of the hill people against the colonial rule and native feudalistic dominance, Meena has been able to portray their pain almost, like an insider, the foundation stated.