The 6th Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize reached its pinnacle today (Tuesday, Dec 19, 2023) honoring exceptional achievements in both literary and social spheres. The ceremony, attended by Copenhagen-based Peter Bundalo, the revered Founder of the Tagore Literary Prize, commemorated the outstanding contributions of Abhijit Banerjee, the Nobel Prize laureate for Economics, recipient of the Tagore Prize for Social Achievement 2023, and Sukrita Paul Kumar, Poet, Critic and Translator won the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize.

This prestigious award, paying tribute to Rabindranath Tagore’s enduring legacy, not only recognizes literary brilliance but also celebrates remarkable accomplishments in social arenas.

The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize, an annual celebration of literary eminence, continues its tradition of honoring exceptional talent across diverse genres. This year’s accolades commend Abhijit Banerjee for his remarkable contributions to societal welfare, alongside Sukrita Paul Kumar for literary brilliance that transcends boundaries, echoing the spirit of this esteemed award. Their achievements align profoundly with the ideals upheld by previous laureates such as Raj Kamal Jha, Shobhana Kumar, and Sudeep Sen.

Sukrita Paul Kumar reflected on the literary honor, stating, “Receiving the 6th Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize is a deeply humbling experience. This recognition not only validates my artistic journey but also emphasizes the universality of storytelling in connecting diverse cultures

Here is the Judges’ commentary on the winner of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2023:

‘The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2023 laureate “Salt and Pepper” by Sukrita originates from a place of serene and profound insight. This collection of poems is a product of a strong sense of self, garnered through exceptional spiritual intuitiveness and deeply female experience.

Sukrita is a poetess who appears to have found her grounding wisdom in acknowledgement that meaning is as fleeting as it is universal, ultimately found in its pursuit.

In her choice of words, she is discerning and exacting, determinedly revealing that the journey towards meaning is synonymous with truth. This profound honesty that forms the essence of her poetry, this innate and superior grace that remains so remarkably devoid of literary affectation, is the quality that renders her verses almost mantra-like, genuinely whole and reminiscent to deeply true aphorisms that consistently resonate.

Sukrita’s poetry is felt both in the heart and bones.

Sukrita articulates evolutionary wisdom and plays with the contradiction that is the essence of our existence in her often laconic, masterful verses that are destined to resist obsolescence—eternally relevant and true.

We exist in the singular and the dual, we exist in the past, present, and future, we transcend time as we are both within it and beyond it. We are intertwined with the stars and embedded in our daughters’ DNA.

Sukrita, your poetry is so beautifully crafted, it elevates.’

published with sindhcourier