Sahitya Academy Award for 1997

The Sahitya Academy Award for 1997 will go to Yeshwant Sadanand Palekar, the noted Konkani writer, journalist and activist. He gets the award for his translation into Konkani of the Kananda book Marali Mannige. The Konkani title is Matayecho Mog and was adjudged the best Konkani translation during the past five years. It depicts the story of three generations, their plight and  emotional might. Sixty-year-old Palekar has done a lot for the language and its literature. He took charge and organised the seventh All India Konkani Conference in Karwar in 1960, which at that time was strongly under the influence of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Committee. He is today an executive member of the All India Konkani Parishad and was general secretary of the Parishad for some years. He took over the reins of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal for several years too. As a journalist, he was associated with many publications both in Goa and Karnataka.
(Courtesy: GoaToday / Febuary 1998)