Saraswati Samman, 2023

• Noted poet and litterateur Prabha Varma will be awarded the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2023 for his verse novel Roudra Sathwikam.
• Published in 2022, Roudra Sathwikam is a novel written in poetic verse in Malayalam and probes the conflict between power and politics, individual and state, art and power in a unique way.

ABOUT THE WRITER

• Born in Thiruvalla, Kerala, in 1959, Varma has excelled as a bilingual writer, with exemplary literary works in both Malayalam and English.
• In a career spanning decades, Varma has to his credit more than 30 books, including a dozen collections of poems, three novels in verse, eight books on the contemporary sociopolitical milieu and literature, and seven collections of essays in criticism, among others.
• He has bagged more than 70 awards, including the National Sahitya Akademi Award and the National Film Award.

ABOUT THE AWARD

• Instituted in 1991, Saraswati Samman is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country.
• It is awarded by the KK Birla Foundation.
• It is given every year to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language by an Indian citizen and published within the last 10 years.
• It carries a citation, a plaque, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.
• The recipient is chosen by a selection committee, whose current head is former Supreme Court judge, Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri.