Ashok Srinivasan won The Hindu Prize 2014 at the Lit for Life 2015 for his debut collection of 13 short stories, Book of Common Signs, here on Saturday, the second day of the literary festival organised by the newspaper here.
The award was presented by the former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Leila Seth, who, in the context of a resolution passed at the festival supporting author Perumal Murugan, said she hoped that freedom of expression would be alive forever in this country.
Mr. Srinivasan, in his acceptance speech, said “short stories, unlike poetry, are the things that are lost not only in translation but also don’t sell.”
The judging panel included K. Satchidanandan, Arunava Sinha, Githa Hariharan, Tabish Khair and Professor Malashri Lal. Read more about the panel >here .
This is what the panel had to say about Book of Common Signs when the shortlist was announced.
"This collection of stories is full of quiet surprises. The stories are carefully structured, yet playful and quirky in a cerebral way. They cover a great deal of ground with equal facility – from hutments and streets to middle class homes. Whether it is the emotional power of intimacy, the multiple lives of a single mind, or the terrors of difference and separation, real people live them out. Throughout there is a simmering tension between the real and the imagined. The language is suggestive, framing and saying just the right amount and withholding when necessary; metaphors, images and insights are embedded neatly in the narrative. Despite the occasional waywardness, which comes as a pleasant shock, these sophisticated stories are executed with great restraint."
Here's an >interview with Author Ashok Srinivasan .
