Vyas Samman 2006 for Prof Srivastava

New Delhi, Oct 12 (UNI) Hindi poet Prof Parmanand Srivastava was today chosen for the Vyas Samman for this year for his critically acclaimed work, 'Kavita ka Arthaat', an eloquent analysis of the relationship between poetry and the society.

A jury chaired by Allahabad University's head of Hindi Department, Prof Satya Prakash Mishra, picked up Prof Srivastava for the Rs 250,000 award, the K K Biral Foundation said.

Vyas Samman is given to an outstanding Hindi literary work published during the last one decade.

Published in 1999, 'Kavita ka Arthaat' is literary criticism aimed at understanding of time and reality hidden in a literary work.

''For me this has been a personal struggle. In other words, a discovery, a tireless curiosity,'' Prof. Srivastava, 71, says in the introduction to the book about time and reality in literature.

Born on February 10, 1935, Prof Srivastava had an illustrious teaching career simultaneously with his literary career teaching at institutions like the Saint Andrews College, Gorakhpur, Burdwan University and Gorakhpur University.

His last stint at teaching was as an Acharya of the Premchand Chair at the Gorakhpur University.

His published works include four collections of poems, one collection of short stories, one diary and translation of works of writers like Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and German writer Gunter Grass into Hindi.

He, however, calls himself a critic, which is evident from his prolific literary criticism in the form of ten published works, including 'Shabd aur Manushya' (1998) and 'Kavita ka Uttar Jeevan' (2004).

Previous winners of the award include Dr Ram Vilas Sharma, Kedarnath Singh, Srilal Shukla, Kailash Vajpeyi and Chandrakanta.

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