‘Sahityavrati’ award conferred on Bage

Nagpur: Asha Bage, known for her explicit writing in Marathi, was honoured with the first Prof Ram Shewalkar ‘Sahityavrati’ award at Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, Sitabuldi, on Thursday. The award was given under the aegis of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal.
Senior journalist Vijay Kuvalekar, littérateur Prabha Ganorkar and president of Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal Shripad Balchandra Joshi were present.

The ceremony started with Asha Bage’s ‘Atithi’, one of her best works. She said, “I felt satisfied after writing ‘Atithi’ because I thought I was able to communicate to my readers what I wanted to. I believe that to write good, one needs to read well. A lot of what I write comes from what I read.”

In his address, Kuvalekar said Bage is the author of many short story collections and award winning novels. Her stories reflect the rich music legacy she grew with. The stories come with a new perception that music, as a medium, helps in building cultural bridges.

Ganorkar said, “I love Asha’s writings and got many opportunities to express it. Her writings and work speak for her. Brahmanical culture is very well reflected in her writings and it is not that she tries to fit it in. Whatever she writes becomes part of it.”

“If any of our next generation wants to learn about Brahmanical culture, Asha’s books will be enough for them to learn it from inside out. Her writing is realistic as she doesn’t stress on portraying her characters as great or perfect. You will find her characters to be real which the readers connect to,” she added.

Bage’s stories can be described as woman-centric, but not as feminist. She does not seem to commit herself to any ‘ism’ or ideology. She doesn’t believe in imitating any established or trending writer, Ganorkar said.

(Reporting by Namrata Ghaturle)