Meitei, officially known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur, as well as one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, included in the 8th Schedule to the Indian Constitution. It is one of the advanced literary languages, recognised by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. It serves as one of the recognised educational and literary languages in Assam and Tripura. Native to the Meitei people, it has around 3 million total speakers, and is used as L1 by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, and as L2 by different ethnic groups, in different parts of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It was used as a court language in the historic Manipur Kingdom, in accordance to the Manipur State Constitution Act 1947.
Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its office is located in Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.
Harbhajan Singh was an Indian poet, critic, cultural commentator, and translator in the Punjabi-language. Along with Amrita Pritam, Harbhajan is credited with revolutionising the Punjabi poetry writing style. He published 17 collections of poems, including Registan Vich Lakarhara, 19 works of literary history and translated 14 pieces of literature of others including those of Aristotle, Sophocles, Rabindranath Tagore and selections from the Rig Veda.
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the 8th Schedule to the Indian constitution as well as in English and Rajasthani language.
Vijaydan Detha, also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature. He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award.
The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. It is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a living writer, the number of fellows at no time exceeding 21. Elected from among writers thought by the Akademi to be of acknowledged merit, the fellows are sometimes described as the "immortals of Indian literature."
The Moortidevi Award is an Indian literary award annually presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a literary and research organisation. The award is given only to Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, and in English, with no posthumous conferral or self nomination.
The Yuva Puraskar, also known as Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on young writers of outstanding works in one of the 24 major Indian languages. Instituted in 2011, it recognises young writers under 35, with the aim of encouraging and promoting young writers. It comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and an engraved copper plaque.
Ardhanarishwar is a Hindi novel by Indian writer Vishnu Prabhakar, published in 1992. It won the 1993 Sahitya Akademi Award for Hindi, given by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. Prabhakar was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, in 2004 for it. It is about 1200-pages long and was well received by the readers.
