Noted Hindi writer Suryabala will be presented the 34th Vyas Samman, 2024, for her novel “Kaun Des Ko Vasi: Venu Ki Diary” on January 28, the KK Birla Foundation said in an official statement on Thursday. The award will be presented at a ceremony at the Mumbai Press Club.
Instituted in 1991, the award is given to an outstanding Hindi literary work by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years. It carries a cash prize of ₹4 lakh, a citation, and a plaque.
Born in Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh in 1943, Suryabala has an MA in Hindi literature from Kashi Vishwavidyalaya, and later did her PhD.
In a career spanning several decades, she has authored more than 50 novels, books, biographies and children’s novels. Many of her works have been broadcasted in the form of television serials.
In the book “Kaun Des Ko Vasi: Venu Ki Diary”, she deals with how the Indian youth believes that America is his promising future and challenges one faces going to America, temptations one falls prey to and what ideological conflict one goes through at the cultural level.
“Even after facing spiritual deprivations, one is not able to return. The young generation changes so much in its culture and nature that it not only abandons its basic culture but also develops hatred towards it in its mind. The sad result is that such people are neither able to connect with their roots nor are able to establish their roots in foreign land. Suryabala has seriously reflected on this widespread problem on the basis of her personal experience and the knowledge gained from living abroad. Keeping its various dimensions in mind, she has presented an authentic reflection on the condition and direction of the overseas Indians through characters with different culture and vision,” the foundation said at the time of the announcement of the award.
{{/usCountry}}“Even after facing spiritual deprivations, one is not able to return. The young generation changes so much in its culture and nature that it not only abandons its basic culture but also develops hatred towards it in its mind. The sad result is that such people are neither able to connect with their roots nor are able to establish their roots in foreign land. Suryabala has seriously reflected on this widespread problem on the basis of her personal experience and the knowledge gained from living abroad. Keeping its various dimensions in mind, she has presented an authentic reflection on the condition and direction of the overseas Indians through characters with different culture and vision,” the foundation said at the time of the announcement of the award.
{{/usCountry}}Besides the Vyas Samman, the KK Birla Foundation has also instituted Saraswati Samman and Bihari Puraskar. The Saraswati Samman, which carries a cash prize of ₹15 lakh, is given to an outstanding literary work by an Indian citizen in any of the languages included in Schedule VIII to the Constitution of India and published during a period of 10 years.