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The selection committee, chaired by Jnanpith awardee Pratibha Rai, decided to award the award to Rambhadracharya for Sanskrit and Gulzar for Urdu, on Saturday.
Rambhadracharya, who lost sight in both eyes when he was five, did not let tragedy get in the way of his quest for knowledge. He is the author of over 240 books and texts, including four epics (two in Sanskrit and two in Hindi) and a Hindi commentary on Ramcharitmanas. He has also written a Sanskrit poetic commentary on Panini’s work on grammar, Ashtadhyayi and Sanskrit commentaries on Prasthanatrayi, which literally means three sources. The Brahmasutras, Pradhan Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita collectively form the Prasthanatrayi.
In October last year, PM Modi released ‘Ashtadhyayi Bhashya’, ‘Ramanandacharya Charitam’ and ‘Bhagwan Shri Krishna ki Rashtraleela’, written by Ramanandi sant, who was also a star witness for the Hindu side in the title dispute. Ayodhya site in Allahabad HC.
Rambhadracharya, a polyglot who speaks 22 languages, also writes in Awadhi and Maithili.
Gulzar invented the new three-line poetic genre ‘Triveni’
Rambhadracharya is founder president of Tulsi Peeth at Chitrakoot in UP, a social and religious service institution named after Sant Tulsidas, and is among India’s best-known experts on the medieval poet.
He was born in 1950 in Khandikhurd village in Jaunpur, eastern UP.
He is one of the four current Jagadpur Ramanandacharyas of the Ramananda sect and has held the position since 1988. In 2015, the Modi government honored him with Padma Vibhushan.
Gulzar, born in 1934, is among the most prominent writers of his time. His works are mainly in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi. Poet, lyricist and filmmaker, Gulzar draws crowds at both light festivals and mushairas. His films, often created from literary classics, resemble visual literature. His poetry is touched by the longing for a world where past and present collide but find solace in each other.
In Gulzar’s poetic universe, the moon is a beggar’s bowl and the heart is a neighbor. He has invented a new poetic genre, ‘Triveni’, a three-line verse where the first two verses are complete in themselves but the third provides a twist and new meaning. He has also written notable children’s poetry.
Gulzar received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002, Padma Bhushan in 2004, the Oscar for Best Song in 2009, a Grammy for the same song and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013.
Renowned Malayalam writer G Sankara Kurup was the first writer to receive the Jnanpith award in 1965.