H K Devsare wins first 'Vatsalya Award' for children's literature

New Delhi, Feb 8 (UNI) A distinguished name in the realm of children's literature in Indian languages, Dr Harikrishna Devsare, a former editor of immensely popular 'Parag' magazine in Hindi, has been declared the winner of the first 'Vatsalya Award', instituted to celebrate and recognise the excellent writing in this genre.

Set up by Padma Binani Foundation, the award, the only of its type, aims at propagating and popularising children's literature. It carries a reward amount of Rs One lakh.

Known for experimentation in his writings, Dr Devsare has launched a serious debate by questioning the relevance of the tales of kings and queens and fairies in the modern context.

Instead, he has encouraged creativity in children's literature in Indian languages and tried to fill the vacuum in science fiction and one-act plays for children.

With over 300 books for children to his credit, he has contributed a number of authentic and standard works in this category in Hindi. In addition, he has written scripts for serials, telefilms and programmes based on science and technology.

Dr Devsare is a recipient of several awards and honours, including Bal Sahityakar Samman, Bal Sahitya Samman of Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan, Kriti Samman (2001) and Sahityakar Samman (2004) of Hindi Akademi, Delhi.

A statement from Padma Binani Foundation said Dr Devsare was selected after critically examining the children's literature in 22 Indian languages.

UNI