Jnanpith Award 2021- Nilmani Phookan, Damodar Mauzo bag top literary honour

Highlights:

• The 56th and 57th Jnanpith Awards were announced recently, for the year 2020 and 2021 respectively.
• Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan Jr. and Konkani Novelist Damodar Mauzo have emerged as the winners of 56th and 57th Award respectively. 
• They were selected for their contribution to Indian literature.
• Jnanpith Awards are India’s highest literary honour, which is bestowed on the writers for their outstanding contribution in Literature.
• Both Phookan and Mauzo are also the winners of Sahitya Akademi Award. 
• They are known for their significant contribution to the respective regional literature.
• Damodar Mauzo is from Majorda in Goa while Nilmani Phookan is from Guwahati in Assam.

• Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan received the highest literary honour ‘Jnanpith Award’, honouring his lifelong devotion to literature.
• Other Assamese to won the award
• Assam has received Jnanpith Award for the third time. Before Nilmani Phookan, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya won the award in 1979 while Mamoni Raisom Goswami won it in 2000.

• Damodar Mauzo is a 77 years old Konkani writer. 
• He has been awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award. 
• He is known for his novels like Tsunami Simon and Karmelin as well as for short stories like Other Stories from Goa and Teresa’s Man.

• Jnanpith Award is the oldest and highest literary award. 
• The Award is honoured annually by Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their contribution to literature. 
• The award was established in 1961.