Malayalam writer and orator Prof M K Sanoo has won the Basheer Award, instituted by Qatar-based socio-cultural-charitable organisation Pravasi Doha.
The award will be presented to Sanoo at a function to be held in Doha in October coinciding with the 20th anniversary celebrations of Pravasi Doha and the Basheer Award, organisation’s officials
announced yesterday.
The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs50,000, a statuette designed by sculptor and painter Namboodiri and a citation, was decided by a jury headed by Malayalam writer M T Vasudevan Nair, recipient of India’s top literary award Jnanpeedh, Prof M A Rahman, social activist and a former teacher of the MES Indian School in Doha, Babu Mather, a former journalist with Gulf Times and The Peninsula, C V Rappai, chairman, Pravasi Doha, K K Sudhakaran and P Shemzudeen.
Sanoo has written over 30 books, including biographies of icons in Malayalam literature and social reforms like the late Vaikom Mohamed Basheer, Chamgambuzha Krishna Pillai and Shri Narayana Guru and M C Joseph.
He is a recipient of Kendra Sahithya Academy Award, Kerala Sahithya Academy Award, Vayalar Award, and Kerala government’s Ezhuthachan Award. He was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly as an independent and is a permanent member of the International Body of Human Rights and Mithram School for the Mentally
Challenged.
Pravasi Doha will also present a scholarship worth Rs15,000, instituted in memory of the late M N Vijayan, a former patron of Pravasi and writer and philosopher, to an academically-brilliant student who needs financial support to pursue his/her education in India.
The award declaration was made in Kozhikode by Fabi Bashir, widow of the late Vaikom Mohamed Basheer. Pravasi Doha’s award is named after Basheer, a noted writer.
Pravasi Doha was established in 1995 by a group of expatriates from India interested in literature, culture, movies and philanthropic activities. It organised the first international film festival in Doha the same year.