Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan and Damodar Mauzo, a Konkani novelist, received the 56th and 57th Jnanpith Awards for their contributions to Indian literature.  The 56th Jnanpith Award went to eminent Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan Jr., while the 57th Jnanpith Award went to Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo. 

The Jnanpith Awards, India’s highest literary honour, are given to writers who have made significant contribution in the field of literature. The 56th Jnanpith Award was announced for 2020 and the 57th Jnanpith Award for 2021. Both Phookan and Mauzo are the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Award and are known for their contribution to regional literature. Damodar Mauzo is from Majorda, Goa, and Nilmani Phookan is from Guwahati, Assam.  Nilmani Phookan, an Assamese poet, was named the winner of the 56th Jnanpith Award. 

Nilmani Phookna, an Assamese poet, has been awarded the highest literary honour, the ‘Jnanpith Award.’  He has been honoured for his lifelong devotion to literature. Assam has got the Jnanpith Award for the third time. Prior to Nilmani Phookan, the literary award was given to Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya in 1979 and Mamoni Raisom Goswami in 2000. 

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Famous works of Jnanpith Awardee Nilmani Phookan  Padma Shri Awardee Nilmani Phookan could be a poet of renown and is understood for his work. Damodar Mauzo, a Konkani writer, has won the 57th Jnanpith Award. The 57th Jnanpith Award was given to Damodar Mauzo, a 77-year-old Konkani writer. Mauzo is understood for his novels like Tsunami Simon and Karmelin and therefore the short stories including Other Stories from Goa and Teresa’s Man. 

 Damodar Mauzo’s works, which won the Jnanpith Award, have been translated into several Indian languages. Mauzo noted that while he was honoured to receive the Jnanpith Award, he also acknowledged that there are many writers of equal or greater calibre who deserved the highest literary honour. This is the second time a Konkani author has won the Jnanpith Award. the primary one was awarded in 2006 to Ravinder Kelelar. The famous Jnanpith Award is that the oldest and highest literary award. It is given to an author every year by Bharatiya Jnanpith for their great contribution to literature.

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 Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961 and is bestowed only on the Indian writers who write within the Indian languages that are included within the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India.