Steel Plant Management felicitated the eminent Hindi writer, Vinod Kumar Shukla, at his residence in Raipur on Saturday. Amulya Priyadarshi, GM (LA & PR), felicitated Shukla on behalf of Anirban Dasgupta, Director I/c (SAIL- BSP), in the presence of Senior BSP officials Soumik Dey, GM (LA & PR & Rajbhasha), and Jawahar Bajpai, AGM (PR), and also extended congratulations and best wishes to Shukla. Shashwat Gopal Shukla, son of the esteemed litterateur, was also present. In March 2025, Shukla was honoured with the 59th Jnanpith Award for the year 2024, India’s highest literary accolade, becoming the first writer from Chhattisgarh to receive this distinction. The Jnanpith Award, instituted in 1961, recognizes outstanding contributions to Indian literature. Vinod Kumar Shukla engaged in an insightful interaction with the BSP Officials about his life and literary works. Expressing his gratitude, Shukla remarked, “This is a very big award. I never thought

 

I would receive this award.” Vinod Kumar Shukla, born in the year 1937 in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, has been a towering figure in Hindi literature. His literary journey began with the poetry collection “Lagbhag Jai Hind” in 1971. He gained widespread acclaim for novels such as “Naukar Ki Kameez” (1979), which was later adapted into a film by Mani Kaul, and “Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi” (1997), for which he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999. His works are celebrated for their simplicity, deep sensitivity, and unique narrative style, often weaving elements of magic realism to depict the lives of ordinary individuals.