Hindi scholar and writer Sunita Jain was awarded the prestigious 25th Vyas Samman 2015 for her poetry collection “Kshama”.The book “Kshama” was published in 2008.  West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi conferred the award on the scholar. The award instituted by the K K Birla Foundation carries a cash prize of Rs 2.50 lakh. It is given annually to outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen.

• Tripathi commended the author for portraying through poetry the fine emotions between poet Tulsidas and his wife Ratnavalli.”The author has managed to aptly convey the sentiment of forgiveness between Tulsidas and his wife using very fine language,” he said.

• Eminent litterateur Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari who presided over the selection committee for the award said Jain’s work aptly brought out the emotions of forgiveness and repentance.

About Sunita Jain:

Sunita Jain is an Indian scholar, novelist, short-story writer and poet of English and Hindi literature. She is a former professor and the Head of the department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

She has published over 60 books, in English and Hindi, besides translating many Jain writings into English. She is featured in the Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English and is a recipient of The Vreeland Award (1969) and the Marie Sandoz Prairie Schooner Fiction Award (1970 and 1971).

The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004.

About Vyas Samman:

The Vyas Samman is a literary award in India, first awarded in 1991 . It is awarded annually by the K.K. Birla Foundation and includes a cash payout of Rs 250,000 (as of 2005).

To be eligible for the award, the literary work must be in the Hindi language and have been published in the past 10 years.