The Sergey Esenin Award, instituted by the Russian House here and the Moscow State Esenin Museum, was presented to novelist, poet, and translator Venu V. Desam on Friday.
The award was presented as part of the 12th annual Russian Language and Literature Festival hosted by the Russian House.
Consul General of the Russian Federation in south India Oleg N. Avdeev inaugurated the ceremony. In his speech, Mr. Avdeev said Sergey Alexandrovich Esenin was a true national poet. “Esenin loved Russia. He wrote about the innocence of village life. His poems also reflected the pride he had for his country. He penned poems for the common people in Russia. With his love for the rural space, Esenin did not accept his counterparts’ industrial poems. I do not doubt that the literary festival will go a long way in promoting people-to-people ties between Russia and India.”
University of Kerala Vice-Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai who delivered the keynote address said the university had taken the initiative to establish cooperation with leading Russian universities.
Former Secretary to the State government and writer K.V. Mohankumar spoke about Sergey Esenin. Mr. Desam was selected for the award for his contribution to popularising Russian literature in India through translations. He has translated major novels and short stories of Mikhail Dostoevsky, and also translated Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov.
Mr. Desam delivered the acceptance speech. Oksana Alekseeva, co-writer of the script of the docufiction Room-8 Esenin’s Key was felicitated. The film was screened ahead of the meeting.
Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation and Director of the Russian House Ratheesh C. Nair presided.
