New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Hindi poet and writer Govind Mishra and Gujarati poet, playwright and critic Sitanshu Yashaschandra have been chosen for the prestigious 'Akashdeep', the highest honour of Amar Ujala's Shabd Samman initiative.

The award recognises their lifetime contributions to Indian literature and culture, according to the statement.

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Born in Gujarat's Kutch on August 19, 1941, Yashaschandra is being honoured for his unmatched contribution to modern Gujarati literature and art.

Mishra -- born on August 1, 1939, in Banda, Uttar Pradesh -- is receiving the accolade for his significant achievements in Hindi writing.

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Launched in 2018, the Akashdeep award celebrates the collective literary aspirations of Indian languages.

Recipients of the award are honoured with Rs 5 lakh, a citation, and a symbolic Ganga statue.

This year, Gujarati was included in the list of honoured languages, which previously featured Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Malayalam and Hindi.

"This is the most beautiful bridge between languages," Yashaschandra said, expressing his gratitude.

Mishra shared a similar sentiment, saying, "Being a part of a glorious tradition itself is a great feeling."

In addition to Akashdeep, Amar Ujala announced the 'Shreshtha Kriti Samman' for the best Hindi literary works published in 2023.

In the poetry category, Jyoti Chawla's collection "Yeh Unindi Raton Ka Samay Hai" was selected.

Yugal Joshi's novel "Agnikal" was chosen as best fiction while Dhruv Shukla's "Wa Ghar Sabse Nyara" won in the non-fiction category.

The debut work award 'Thap' will be presented to Kinshuk Gupta for his book "Yeh Dil Hai Ki Chor Darwaza".

Subhash Nirav will receive the 'Bhasha Bandhu' for his Hindi translation of "Tum Kyun Udas Ho", originally in Punjabi by Kulbir Badesaron.

Each of these awards comes with Rs 1 lakh, a citation, and the Ganga statue.

The winners were selected by a jury comprising poet Alok Dhanwa, storyteller Sanjeev, critic Vagish Shukla, writer-editor Vishwanath Sachdev, and storyteller Akhilesh.

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