Eminent Urdu litterateur Shamim Hanfi was today conferred the Jnangarima Manad Alankaran by Bharatiya Jnanpith at his residence here, the literary body said in a statement.
The award was announced at the annual 'Kavita Samay' - an evening of poetry recitation by authors in both Hindi and Urdu, organised by the institution in August this year to commemorate 70 years of the institution.
Founded earlier this year, the Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award recognises the contribution of writers in Indian languages.
Hailing originally from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Hanif moved to Allahabad to pursue his higher studies, where he met Firaq Gorakhpuri, one of the most celebrated contemporary Urdu poets, who eventually also became his mentor.
The Urdu scholar is best known for his books on criticism like "Jadidiyat ki Falsafiyani Asas," "Ghazal Ka Naya Manzarnama" and "Infiradi Shaoor aur Ijtemai Zindagi."
He also served as a faculty member in Aligarh Muslim University for a brief period of time before joining Jamia Millia Islamia, from where he resigned as the Dean of Humanities and Languages department in 2012.
He has also been a freelance columnist for various Urdu and Hindi newspapers and periodicals, besides writing features and plays for radio and television.
Hanfi was presented with a Saraswati statue, a silver citation and a shawl. He will also receive a stipend of Rs 11,000 per month for the next one year from Bharatiya Jnanpith.
Leeladhar Mandloi, Director, Bharatiya Jnanpith, Moortidevi laureate Vishwanath Tripathi and Jnanpith laureate Kedarnath Singh were among others were present at the informal award giving ceremony.
Bharatiya Jnanpith was founded in 1944 to undertake systematic research and publication of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali and Apabhramsha texts and covers subjects like religion, philosophy, logic, ethics, grammar, astrology and poetics.
It annually publishes books in Hindi (both original and translated works) and other languages, and also presents the literary awards, Jnanpith Awards and Moortidevi Award, besides awards for upcoming writers.
