Thank you Mauritius!

The award ceremony

I happened to be in the paradise last week. I was in Mauritius to receive the 'Mahatma Gandhi Institute Award for Creative Writing in Diaspora Hindi Literature (AKA Aaprawasi Sahitya Srijan Samman), First Edition - Year 2016' conferred by Hon. Santi Bai Hanoomanjee, GCSK, the speaker of the national assembly of Mauritius, in Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Moka, on August 23, 2017.

The establishment of this biennial award, officially titled as 'The Mahatma Gandhi Sansthan Apravasi Hindi Sahitya Srijan Samman' was announced by Mrs. Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education & Scientific Research in the 10th World Hindi Conference in Bhopal, India.

In MBC studio

The award not only comes with a plaque, a certificate and  cash prize, but with a lot of happiness and many new friends :) And, believe me, that I was moved so much by the generosity of the hosts and the guests alike that I could not speak enough to thank them. This note is my attempt to say "Thank you Mauritius!".

Dr. Nutan Pandey, Cultural Secretary at Indian High Commission presented the descriptive review of the book 'Anuragi Mann' while describing the selection process on behalf of the jury. I was impressed by her generosity in bringing forth many aspects of the collection which helped them decide the recipient of the first edition of the award. My gratitude to Dr. Nutan Pandey, Prof. Umesh Kumar Singh, ICCR Chair, Dr. Vinod Mishra, Secretary General of the World Hindi Secretariat, Dr Rajrani Gobin, and everyone else, who was involved in the selection process.

Abhimanyu Unnuth

I am surprised to note the number of activities, I could do within a tight schedule of just three days. This was impossible without the planning and cooperation from my Mauritian friends like Shreetee Rampul, and Vinaye Goodary. I got a chance to interact with the students besides having a deep dive session with the faculty members at MGI.

From the beaches to the hills of Mauritius, I saw all the beautiful places. I have seen a lot of natural beauty from the World Heritage site of the Aapravasi Ghat to Ganga Talao, from Trou aux Cerfs to Seven Coloured Earth, from Chamarel Falls to Mudia hill. There is a lot more to see and do in Mauritius. I wish I could stay a little longer.

The program

Meeting the  legendary Abhimanyu Unnuth is a dream of every Hindi author. My old friend Vinaye Goodary was kind enough to get me an appointment and later drive me to his home in Triolet.

From the first phone call from Dr. Rajrani Gobin till completion of the ceremony, I am touched by the way entire process was conducted. I am thankful to the management of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for asking me to provide the dates for the ceremony and accommodating my short availability of just three days. Special thanks to Dr. Gobin for being a great host from my arrival till departure from Mauritius. I would like to thank Mrs. Sooryakanti Gayan, GOSK, and Shri Jayanarayan Meetoo, respectively, the Managing Director and the chairman of the council of the MGI and RTI, for their time and considerations during the program and the meetings with me.

Welcome address by Mrs. S. Gayan, Director General of MGI and RTI

A French news clip about the award ceremony


Best,
Anurag Sharma
Setu, Pittsburgh 

Setu, August 2017