Ramdev Dhurandhar receives Shrilal Shukla Smriti IFFCO Sahitya Samman

New Delhi: Noted litterateur Ramdev Dhurandhar has been selected for this year's 'Shrilal Shukla Smriti IFFCO Sahitya Samman' presented by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the main co-operative society of fertilizer sector.

The selection committee headed by Shri Devi Prasad Tripathi selected Ramdev Dhurandhar for the award, keeping his extensive literary contribution in mind. The selection committee comprises senior critic Mr Nityanand Tiwari and Mr Murli Manohar Prasad Singh besides senior story writer Mrs Chandrakantha and senior poet Dr Dinesh Kumar Shukla.

Expressing happiness over the decision of the jury, Dr Uday Shankar Awasthi, Managing Director of IFFCO said, "this honour will be recognized internationally by the selection of the Hindi writer of Mauritius. Shri Ramdev Dhurandhar, who is the leader of the struggle of indigenous peoples, has a respect for Indian tradition and culture.”

Mr Dhurandhar's famous novel 'Pathriela Sona' is published in six volumes. In this epic novel, he has portrayed the struggling life-journey of his ancestors who came to Mauritius from India as farmers and labourers. He has also written other novels such as 'Chhoti Machhli Badi Machhli', 'Chehro Ka Aadmi', 'Bante Bigadte Rishte', 'Puchho Iss Maati Se'. His two story collections are 'Vish Manthan' and 'Janm Ki Ek Bhool'. Apart from this, he has several satirical collections and short stories to his credit.

The Shrilal Shukla Smriti IFFCO Sahitya Samman was started way back in 2011 in the memory of the fiction writer Shrilal Shukla and is given every year to a Hindi writer whose writings highlight the problems related to rural-agricultural life, aspirations and struggles.

So far this award has been given to Shri Vidyasagar Nautiyal, Mr Shekhar Joshi, Mr Sanjeev, Mr Mithileswar, Mr Ashtabhuja Shukla and Mr Kamalakant Tripathi. The awardee is honoured with a momento, and a cash price of Rs 11 lakh. This award will be given to Shri Ramdev Dhurandhar at a function in New Delhi on January 31, 2018.