Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy announced its honorary award and book award for 2020 for three persons and three books each on Friday.
It has chosen Aruna Subrao Ubhayakar of Kumta (literature), Puttur Panduranga Nayak (arts), and Lakshmi Krishna Siddi of Yellapura (folklore) for its honorary award, which carries a purse of ₹50,000, a memento, a citation, and a shawl.
The academy has selected ‘Aek Moot Paulio’, a collection of poems by Prem Moras of Mangaluru, ‘Navi Disha’, a collection of short stories by Monica D’Sa Mathias of Udupi, and ‘Sugandhu Swas’, a collection of articles by Steven Quadros Permude for the book award, which carries a purse of ₹25,000, a memento, a citation, and a shawl.
Addressing presspersons here, academy chairman Jagadish Pai said the awards would be presented at Kumta in Uttara Kannada. The date of the awards ceremony is yet to be finalised.
The winners
Mr. Ubhayakar was a teacher for 33 years and founded the Konkani Parishat in Kumta in 1989. He organised the first All-Karnataka Konkani Sammelana in 1990 and started the Akhila Karnataka Konkani Parishat in Bengaluru. The academy has published his two books. He has published ‘Panchajanya’, a collection of short drama scripts and a collection of poems.
Mr. Nayak, who is a musician, is a B grade artist of All India Radio. He has composed over 100 songs in Konkani, Kannada, and Tulu since 1988, and brought out their audio cassettes. He is a commentator of compositions of Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, Shishunala Sharief and the like.
Ms. Siddi is an expert in Siddi folklore forms such as Damami, Pugadi, and Sangyabala. She has acted in some films and has formed a team of Siddi folklore artists to present shows in various places. She formed the team using the money which she got for presenting the shows in various cities.
