Jnanpith Award 2021: Nilmani Phookan, Damodar Mauzo bag top literary honour: Full list of Jnanpith Awardees

Jnanpith Award winner 2021: Eminent Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan Jr. has won the 56th Jnanpith Award while the 57th Jnanpith Award has gone to the Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo. Jnanpith Awards, India’s highest literary honour is bestowed on the writers for their outstanding contribution to the Literature.

56th Jnanpith Award is announced for 2020 and the 57th Jnanpith Award is announced for the year 2021. Both Phookan and Mauzo are the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Award and are known for their significant contribution to the respective regional literature. Damodar Mauzo is based out of Majorda, Goa and Nilmani Phookan is from Guwahati, Assam.

Winner of 56th Jnanpith Award- Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan

Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookna has received the highest literary honour ‘Jnanpith Award’. He has been honoured for his lifelong devotion to literature.

It is also for the third time that Assam has received Jnanpith Award. Before Nilmani Phookan, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya in 1979 and Mamoni Raisom Goswami in 2000 were also awarded the literary honour.

Famous works of Jnanpith Awardee Nilmani Phookan

Padma Shri Awardee Nilmani Phookan is a poet of renown and is known for his works-

Awards & Recognition

Konkani Writer Damodar Mauzo- Winner of 57th Jnanpith Award

Damodar Mauzo, a 77 years old Konkani writer has been awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award. Mauzo is known for his novels such as Tsunami Simon and Karmelin and the short stories including Other Stories from Goa and Teresa’s Man.

The books written by Jnanpith Award winner Damodar Mauzo have also been translated into various Indian languages. While commenting on the news of receiving the Jnanpith Award, Mauzo said that he was elevated while receiving the honour but also realized that there are many writers of the same calibre and better than who deserved the highest literary honour.

This is also the second time that a Konkani writer won Jnanpith Award. The first one was awarded in 2006 to Ravinder Kelelar.

Famous works of Damodar Mauzo

Jnanpith Award

The famous Jnanpith Award is the oldest and highest literary award. It is honoured annually by Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their outstanding contribution to the literature. Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961 and is bestowed only on the Indian writers who write in the Indian languages that are included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India and English. 

Full List of winners of Jnanpith Award