President confers Jnanpith Award on Sankha Ghosh

The President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the 52nd Jnanpith Award on Sankha Ghosh, Professor of Bengali, a teacher of great repute, a poet and critique par excellence.

Speaking on the occasion in New Delhi on Thursday, the President said that Sankha Ghosh is indeed the most deserving recipient of this award.

Prof Ghosh is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award, way back in 1977, and a Padma Bhushan awardee.

''A professor of Bengali and an authority in his own right on the works of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Prof Sankha Ghosh represents the fluid brilliance that characterizes India's multifarious literary genius. It is indeed an example of his brilliant fluidity that an author who strove to master Bengali academically, expressed himself in perhaps the most difficult literary genre of poetry,' an official release stated.

The President said that in conferring the award on Prof Sankha Ghosh the selection board noted that his poetic idiom and experiments with various poetic forms mark his greatness as a creative talent. They also observed that Prof Ghosh's poetry, while conveying messages, have remained free from polemics. ''One look at his works, be it Adim Lata- Gulmomay, Murkho Baro Samajik Noy or Baborer Prarthana, to name a few, and one would be left in no doubt about every word of the observations mentioned by the selection board to be to the point and correct.''

The President said an ardent writer of Bengali poetry, his literary works reflect a rare poetic style that encompasses not only a lyrical style but also a deep reflection of the social milieu. His poetry often takes on superficiality in our society and are indeed a candid commentary on contemporary issues. He said that he was sure that as a teacher, Prof Ghosh would have positively influenced the impressionable minds of his students, as much as enriching the readers of his literary works.