Jayanth Kaikini, the most loved novelist, story-teller, and a writer turned lyricist have never fallen flat to impress us with his impeccable style of weaving words through metaphors and the similitude of life. If you have listened to him live then the very presence of him will take you to the world of imagination and put you on the flight of fantasy. Mr.Kaikini is more than his film songs rather he gets more lively through his novels and short stories.
Now as news of pride and joy, Mr. Kaikini is named the winner of the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for his English translated work ‘No Presents Please.’ Jayanth Kaikini’s selected Bombay stories written in Kannada was translated by Tejaswini Niranjan. This announcement came in at the Tata Steel Literary Meet held at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata.
The First Translated Work To Win DSC Award
Jayanth’s and Tejaswini’s ‘No Presents Please’ beat internationally acclaimed writers including Kamila Shamsie and Mohsin Hamid to win this award and honor of $25,000. As ice on the cake, it was received from eminent writer Ruskin Bond.
‘No Presents Please’ is a collection of short stories written about life in Mumbai set in the 1980s. The book gives us an insight into the soul of the city getting the ordinary characters into the mainstream. The book had also won the 2017 Atta Galatta – BLF Prize.
Recommended: These Two Poems of Jayanth Kaikini Will Make You Wonder How Beautiful The Poetic World Is
Jayanth Kaikini Speaks
One lesser-known thing about Jayanth Kaikini is that he lived in Mumbai for 24 years starting from 1976. After receiving the award, Mr. Kaikini refused to accept the literary prize as a ‘race’. He said, “This is great and heartening because it acknowledges a translation and the short story as a genre.”
He added,
“Usually, most acclaim is reserved for the big book, the big novel. I am happy that the jury has decided to recognize Tejaswini equally.” (Source: The Indian Express, The Guardian)
Congratulations to very own and dear writer, Mr. Jayanth Kaikini. It is such a joyous moment for Karnataka and Kannada language. We request you to share this news so that it reaches the maximum.
‘No Presents Please’ is available on Amazon. Interested can buy it from here – https://www.amazon.in/No-Presents-Please-Mumbai-Stories-ebook/dp/B077PP3TQG
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