Noted Bhutanese author Tshering Tashi was on December 8 conferred with the Sahitya Akademi’s ‘Premchand Fellowship’.
Based in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu, Mr. Tashi is a writer known for his works in the field of creative non-fiction. He has written numerous books on Bhutan and has made his country accessible, engaging, and interesting for the youth. He is also the co-director of the Bhutan Echoes Literary Festival.
Mr. Tashi is the co-author of The Bodhisattva King, Bold Bhutan Beckons, Symbols of Bhutan, and is an independent author of works like Mysteries of the Raven Crown, Legacy of Gongzim Ugyen Dori, and Myth and Memory – Untold Stories of Bhutan.
He contributes articles to the national newspapers and international journals, and is a regular invitee to talk on Bhutan at universities including those overseas. He is also one of the Festival Directors of Mountain Echoes Literary Festival.
After the conferment of the fellowship Mr. Tashi delivered a lecture on ‘Storytelling: The Repository of Culture’ through which he traced the deep cultural and historical connection between India and Bhutan and the contribution of both countries in the spread of Buddhism.
The ‘Premchand Fellowship’ is named after popular Hindi writer Munshi Premchand was instituted by the Sahitya Akademi in 2005 on his 125th Birth Anniversary.
It is given to “a person of eminence in the field of culture and literature” doing research on Indian literature or to creative writers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries other than India.
The period of the research ranges from one month to three months. The visiting fellow needs to submit a comprehensive report of their visit which is to be placed before the executive board and are requested to deliver lectures on the topic of their specialisation in universities and institutions dealing in the discipline.
Mr. Tashi is the 12th recipient of the fellowship. Pakistani Urdu writer Intizar Hussain was the first recipient of the fellowship.
The Sahitya Akademi is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature and languages in India. It was founded in March 1954 and is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.
