Sahitya Akademi Awards

• Context (TH): Lakshmisha Tolpadi bags the Sahitya Akademi Award in the essays category.

• Tolpadi’s work is a collection of essays on Vyasa Mahabharatha which are Vyasa’s commentaries on worldview through the eyes of Kannada scholar.
• Other works of Tolpadi: Mahamadana Balige Baradiddare, Sampige Bhagavatha, Balu, Mahayuddhakke Munna, Anandalahari, and Bhakthina Nepadalli.
• Sahitya Akademi Awards is a literary honor conferred annually by the Sahitya Akademy, the National Academy of Letters.
• It was established in 1954.
• It is the 2nd highest literary honor after the Jnanpith Award.
• It is conferred for literary works in 24 languages (22 Official Languages of the 8th Schedule of IC, English and Rajasthani).
• The awardees are presented with cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a plaque.

Criteria

• The author must be of Indian Nationality.
• The book must be an outstanding contribution to the language and literature to which it belongs.
• In case of similar worth of two works, factors such as overall literary contribution and author’s standing would be considered.

Other Sahitya Akademi Awards

• Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar: Honors authors for contribution to Children’s literature
• Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar: Honors novels written by authors below the age of 35 years.

Sahitya Akademi

• Founded in 1954, it is an organization dedicated to the promotion of literature in the Indian languages.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Culture.
• Its office is located in Delhi.
• It initially functioned under executive order but was subsequently registered as a society under the Indian Societies Registration Act of 1860.