Gulzar and Rambhadracharya Named the Recipients of Jnanpith Award 2023

On 17 February, the Jnanpith Selection Committee announced Gulzar and Jagadguru Rambhadracharya as recipients of the 58th Jnanpith Award.

About Gulzar

• Sampooran Singh Kalra, who is popularly known as Gulzar, is a renowned figure in Hindi cinema and a highly regarded Urdu poet. He is considered one of the best poets of his time. 
• Gulzar has received many accolades for his works, including the Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu in 2002, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013, the Padma Bhushan in 2004, and at least five National Film Awards.
• Some of his most notable works include the song "Jai Ho" for the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," which won an Oscar in 2009 and a Grammy in 2010. He has also created songs for critically acclaimed films such as "Maachis" (1996), "Omkara" (2006), "Dil Se..." (1998), and "Guru" (2007), among others.
• Gulzar has directed timeless award-winning classics such as "Koshish", "Parichay'', "Mausam'', "Ijaazat", and the television serial "Mirza Ghalib''. Along with his long film journey, Gulzar has also set new milestones in the field of literature. In poetry, he created a new genre called 'Triveni', which is a non-mukaffa poem of three lines. 
• Gulzar has created something new through his poetry. Recently, he has been paying serious attention to writing children's poetry.

About Rambhadracharya

• Rambhadracharya, who is 74 years old, is a well-known Hindu spiritual leader, educator and writer. He is the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot and has written over 240 books and texts, including four epics. 
• Rambhadracharya has been holding the position under  the Ramananda sect as one of the current four Jagadguru Ramanandacharya since 1982.
• Despite being blind since the age of two months due to trachoma, Rambhadracharya is a polyglot who can speak 22 languages. He is also a poet and writer in several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Awadhi, and Maithili. 
• In recognition of his contributions, he received the Padma Vibhushan award in 2015. Rambhadracharya was born as Giridhara Misra and was home-schooled by his grandfather during his initial years. 
• He had memorized the entire Bhagavad Gita by the age of eight and the entire Ramcharitmanas.

About Jnanpith Award

• The Jnanpith Award is an annual Indian literary award presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their exceptional contribution to literature. 
• It is the oldest and most prestigious literary award in India, established in 1961, and is given only to Indian writers who write in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and also in English. The award is not given posthumously.

• The prestigious award for Sanskrit language has been given for the second time, while for Urdu language it has been given for the fifth time. The award includes prize money of Rs 21 lakh, a statue of Vagdevi and a citation. 

The award for 2022 has been conferred upon Goan writer Damodar Mauzo.