GUWAHATI: Pranavjyoti Deka's 'Srestha Galpa,' won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award on December 20.
Sahitya Akademi made the announcement on X, stating, "2023 Sahitya Akademi Awards. Dr. Pranavjyoti Deka for 'Srestha Galpa' (Short Stories) in Assamese, published by Pranavjyoti Deka, Jaler Upar Pani (Novel) in Bengali by Swapnamay Chakrabarti."
National Award-winning filmmaker Utpal Borpujari also shared the news on social media, expressing, "The announcement of the @sahityaakademi award for 'Srestha Galpa by Dr. Pranab Jyoti Deka' is perhaps the biggest good news for literary lovers of Assam this year."
Since its inception in 1954, the Sahitya Akademi Award has been recognizing the most outstanding books of literary merit published in major Indian languages. The award amount, initially ₹5,000, was increased to ₹10,000 in 1983, ₹25,000 in 1988, ₹40,000 in 2001, ₹50,000 in 2003, and has stood at ₹1,00,000 since 2009. The first Awards were bestowed in 1955.