This is the first time a Bible translation gets a national award in India in modern times.

The executive board of the Sahitya Akademi met at Ravbindra Bhavan New Delhi under the chairmanship of president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari on Monday and approved 23 books for the Sahitya translation prize 2013.

Father Francis D’Britto, an environmentalist, journalist and author, received the award for Marathi for “Subodh Bible – Nava Karar.” The original is The Bible: the New Testament in English.

Another awardee is Hema Naik, an author, for “Kali Katha: Via Bypass,” a Konkani translation of a Hindi novel with the same title by Alka Saraogi.

The prize will be presented at a special function to be held sometime in August 2014, said an Akademi press release.

The books were selected on the recommendation of a selection committee of three members in each language.

The prizes relate to translations first published during the five years prior to the year immediately preceding the year of the prize, or between January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011.

The prize carries an amount of 50,000 rupees and a copper plaque.

There is no award in Gujarati this year, the release added.

Fr D’Britto, a priest of Vasai diocese in Maharashtra, edits “Suvartha” (good news), a Church monthly magazine in Marathi language.

The 71-year-old priest also writes for local daily newspapers and magazines on God´s love, religious harmony and tolerance, social justice, forgiveness and brotherhood.

Many people in Maharashtra say the priest’s writings have touched him deeply. He writes not only about Jesus Christ but also about Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, which attracts people of various religions to him. People cutting across religions invite the priests to their seminars on secularism and social issues.

The priest began writing profusely after he launched the Harit (green) Vasai Movement in 1989 to save the environment. He made headlines when he braved threats from unscrupulous developers who used force and intimidation to grab land in the Vasai region.

The following is the list of books chosen for the prize:

Assamese: Sei Samay (Vol II) – (late) Dipika Chakraborty – Sei Samay (Novel), Bengali, Sunil Gangopadhyay

Bengali: Gathanbad, Uttar Gathanbad Ebang Prachya Kavyatattva – Soma Bandyopadhyay – Sakhtiyat, Pas-Sakhtiyat Aur Mashriqi Sheriyat (Criticism), Urdu, Gopi Chand Narang

Bodo: Jagari – Gobinda Boro – Jagori (Novel), Bengali, Satinath Bhaduri

Dogri: Kalkatte Di Kahani: Via Bypass – Veena Gupta – Kali Katha: Via Bypass (Novel), Hindi, Alka Saraogi

Englis: I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Ded – Ranjit Hoskote – Lalla’s Vakh’s (Poetry), Kashmiri, Lal Ded

Hindi: Ahiran – Bhuddhadev Chatterjee – Ahiran (Novel), Assamese, Indira Goswami

Kannada: Mahatma Jyotirao Phule – J. P. Dodamani – Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (Biography), Marathi, Dhananjay Keer

Kashmiri: Ze Gaz Zameen – Aziz Hajini – Do Gaz Zameen (Novel), Urdu, Abdus Samad

Konkani: Kali-Katha: Via Bypass – Hema Naik – Kali Katha: Via Bypass (Novel), Hindi, Alka Saraogi

Maithili: Bangla Ekanki Natya Sangraha – Guna Nath Jha – Bangla Ekanki Natya Sangraha (Collection of One Act Plays), Bengali, Comp. & Ed. by Ajit Kumar Ghosh (Various Authors)

Malayalam: Thiruvachakam – Ulloor M. Parmeswaran – Thiruvachakam (Classical Poetry), Tamil, Manikka Vaachakar

Manipuri: Khambi Meigi Mashashing – Ibocha Soibam – Wings of Fire (Autobiography), English, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Marathi: Subodh Bible-Nava Karar – Father Francis D’Britto – Bible: The New Testament (Religious Text), English

Nepali: Maila Anchal – I. K. Singh – Maila Anchal (Novel), Hindi, Phanishwar Nath Renu

Odia: Anabruta Andhakar: Saadat Hasan Mantonka Ardhasata Kahani – Bilasani Mohanty – Collection of 50 Short Stories, Urdu, Sadat Hasan Manto

Punjabi: Rajkamal Chaudhary Dian Chonvian Kahaniyan – Balbir Madhopuri – Rajkamal Choudhary ki Chuninda Kahaniyan (Short Stories), Hindi, Rajkamal Choudhary

Rajasthani: Ardhnarishwar – (late) Shanti Bhardwaj ‘Rakesh’ – Ardhanarishwar (Novel), Hindi, Vishnu Prabhakar

Sanskrit: Vijayaparva – Abhiraja Rajendra Mishra – Vijaya Parva (Play), Hindi, Ramakumar Varma

Santhali: Malang Anal – Mangal Majhi (Murmu) – Bhagya Chakra (Novel), Bengali, Haradhan Adhikari

Sindhi: Dr. Ambedkar Hik Prernadayee Shakhisyat – Khiman U. Mulani – Dr. Ambedkar (Collection of Articles), Hindi, Ratan Kumar Sambharia

Tamil: Avadeshwari – Iraiyadaiyan (Dass) – Awadeshwari (Novel), Kannada, Shankar Mokashi Punekar

Telugu: Smaraka Silalu – Nalimela Bhaskar – Smaraka Silakal (Novel), Malayalam, Punathil Kunhabdulla

Urdu: Kyap – Nizam Siddiqui – Kyap (Novel), Hindi, Manohar Shyam Joshi

Source: mattersindia.com