This year’s central Sahitya Akademi Award went to Dr. Prakash Parienkar, the versatile writer from Goa, for his Konkani story collection “Varsal.”

At a press conference held in New Delhi this afternoon, Madhav Kaushik, President of the Sahitya Akademi, unveiled these as well as the novels in 23 other Indian languages.

Neelba Khandekar, Vincy Quadros, and Dr. Fr. Melwyn Pinto served as the Konkani language jury members.

On March 12, in the nation’s capital, the prize would be given in honour of the top literary institution’s 70th anniversary of founding.

The Konkani story collection Varsal was released in 2021 by Jaag Prakashan.

The book’s title story, “Varsal,” was translated into English by Vidya Pai and published in Govapuri in 2000. Dr. Geeta Shenoi has also translated the work into Kannada as “Varsal Mattu Ithara Latkagalu.”

In 2010, Dr. Parienkar was also the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature for his work, “Igadi Bigadi Tigadi Tha” (इगडी बिगडी तिगडी था).

At the age of 35, he received his first national Katha award from New Delhi in 2003 for his Konkani novel “Chandrakor” (चंद्रकोर).

The 55-year-old author is currently credited with eight books in addition to six translations.

Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Odia, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Urdu, English, and Portuguese are among the languages into which his short stories have been translated.

In addition, he has created screenplays for feature films, short films, and full-length motion pictures that have been adapted from his short tales. Numerous them have been shown at international film festivals held all over the world.

Based on one of his Konkani short stories, Kaajro is a short film that won Best Regional Film at the 67th National Film Award.

In addition to receiving multiple state literary honours for his works, Dr. Parinekar has also taken home honours for his short film screenplays.

The Goa University’s Vice Dean (Research) in the Konkani field is also credited with doing an extensive study on the Mhadei River in Goa, entitled Mhadei: Kallzantyal Kagdar (म्हादयः काळजांतल्यान कागदार…). A few accolades have also been won by the book.

Dr. Parienkar is actively involved in ground-level activity in his Sattari taluka, including literature, education, and safaris in the forests of Mhadei sanctuary, in addition to writing and teaching.

In 2018, he served as the first President of the Gramin Sahitya Sammelan, which took place in the Sattari Taluka hamlet of Karanzol.

In addition to writing a novel about the ancient Kumeri agriculture technique, he is currently working on bringing back Puran (पुरण), the disappearing tradition of a distinct agricultural method in Sattari taluka.