Sambalpur: The prestigious Gangadhar National Award for Poetry-2022 was conferred on noted Assamese poet Anis Uz Zaman by Sambalpur University on the occasion of its 57th foundation day.
The award carries Rs 1 lakh, a shawl, a citation and a memento.
While expressing his love for for Odisha and Odia poets, Zaman highlighted the stark similarity between Odia and Assamese language. “The award is a matter of delight and pride not only for me but also the entire Assamese community and people of Assam,” he said.
A native of Bamun Bari in Assam’s Sivasagar district, Zaman began his creative journey with ‘Agyate in 1989’ and was awarded the Amulya Chakraborty Translation Award (2023) for ‘Japanese Haikus’ of renowned poet Matsuo Basho. He has to his credit five books on children’s literature. His literary works have been translated into English, Bengali, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, French and Spanish.
The Gangadhar National Award for Poetry was instituted by Sambalpur University in 1989 in the memory of Swabhaba Kabi Gangadhar Meher to honour Indian poets for their creative excellence. Two other Assamese poets – Nabakanta Barua (1994) and Nilmani Phookan Jr (2008) – have also received this prestigious award. Last year, it was conferred on eminent Malayalam poet, K G Sankara Pillai.
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