Saraswati Samman-2012

The Saraswati Samman award, constituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation, carries a cash reward of Rs.10 lakh, a citation and a plaque. The award is given annually to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language during the last 10 years.

List of Saraswati Samman Winners

·         1990 - Ismat Chughtai for Urdu Literature

·         1991 - Harivanshrai 'Bachchan' for his autobiography in four volumes

·         1992 - Ramakant Rath for his poetry ShreeRadha

·         1993 - Vijay Tendulkar

·         1994 - Harbhajan Singh (Punjabi Poet)

·         1995 - Balamani Amma for poetry collection Nivedyam

·         1996 - Shamsur Rahman Faruqi for She`r-e Shor-Angez

·         1997 - Manubhai Pancholi

·         1998 - Shankha Ghosh for his anthology Gandharba Kabitaguccha

·         1999 - Indira Parthasarathy

·         2000 - Manoj Das for his novel Amruta Phala (The Nectar Fruit)

·         2001 - Dalip Kaur Tiwana for her novel Katha Kaho Urvashi

·         2002 - Mahesh Elkunchwar for his play Yugant

·         2003 - Govind Chandra Pande for his collection of 163 Sanskrit poems entitled Bhagirathi

·         2004 - Sunil Gangopadhyay for his novel Pratham Alo

·         2005 - K. Ayyappa Panicker for his collection of poems Ayyappa Panikarude Kritikal

·         2006 - Jagannath Prasad Das for his collection of poems Parikrama

·         2007 - Naiyer Masud for his collection of short stories Taoos Chaman Ki Myna (The Myna from Peacock Garden) written in Urdu

·         2008 - Lakshmi Nandan Bora for his novel Kayakalpa

·         2009 - Surjit Paatar for Lafzan Di Dargah

·         2010 - S. L. Bhyrappa for Mandra

·         2011- A.A. Manavalan for Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum - Tamil

·         2012- Sugathakumari for the collection of her poems, titled 'Manalezhuthu’ in Malayalam.

The 79-year-old was selected for the honour by a 13-member jury headed by former Chief Justice of India R. C. Lahoti after considering works published in 22 languages published during 2002-11.