Eminent Gujarati litterateur and Sahitya Akademi-laureate Sitanshu Yashchandra has been selected by a Maharashtra university for the prestigious 'Kusumagraja Rashtriya Sahitya Puraskar' for his outstanding contribution to the field of literature. The award, instituted by city-based Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), comprises a memento and a citation, besides Rs one lakh in cash, YCMOU Registrar Dr Prakash Atkare told reporters today. Yashcnadra (72), a poet, playwright, translator and academic, is among contemporary Gujarati literature's most eminent representatives.
"The award will be bestowed upon him at a function to be held at Nashik on March 10", Atkare said. Yashchandra’s dramas 'Aa Manas Madrasi Lage Chhe', 'Ashvathama Aaj Pan Jive The' have won critical acclaim. He had served as the head of department in Baroda's Maharaja Sayajirao University and later became Vice-Chancellor of Saurashtra University. The Kusumagraja award is named after Marathi litterateur and Gyanpeeth awardee late V V Shirwadkar alias Kusumagraj.
