Vancouver Punjabi literature prize announces 2019 winners
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:24:05 +0000
A Vancouver-based literary award has revealed three winners for this year’s Dhanan Prize for Punjabi writing.
According to a prepared statement, the prize was established by the Canada India Education Society in partnership with the Department of Asian Studies in the Faculty of Arts at University of British Columbia, and is currently funded by Barj and Rita Dhahan, and family and friends.
“The 2019 Dhahan Prize winning works challenge us to grapple with three questions — what is truth, what is ordinary and extraordinary in peoples’ daily lives and who are we if we don’t know our history?” said Barj Dhahan. “These stories are outstanding examples of the depth and breadth of the literary talent of the three authors.”
The Dhahan Prize promotes Punjabi literature on a global scale by awarding $25,000 annually to the best book of fiction published in either Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi scripts, along with two additional finalist prizes of $10,000.
Punjabi is the third most spoken language in Canada, with Vancouver in particular having strong ties to Punjabi people, language, and culture.
This year’s first prize went to Jatinder Singh Haans — from Aloona Tola, Punjab, India — for a collection of short stories titled (in English) Living is Truth, All Else is a Lie.
The finalist prizes went to Mudassar Bashir — from Lahore, Pakistan — for a novelette called Who, and Gurdev Singh — from Rupana, India — for a collection of short stories called Ordinary Extraordinary.
Prize winners will be honoured at a ceremony and celebration in Vancouver on Nov. 2.