The Crossword Book Award announced yesterday that its jury has unanimously nominated Shashi Tharoor, who is at the peak of his literary career and is easily among the most read and debated authors in contemporary India, for the Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to literature.
Crossword Book Award introduced the award in 2016, which was conferred upon author Ruskin Bond by Gulzar. In 2017, Sudha Murty was conferred the award by leading cardiac surgeon Dr Ramakanta Panda.
Crossword, in the past, has also awarded stalwarts such as Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh and Kiran Desai, raising the bar for its esteem and reverence.
“Through his expressive writing, Dr Shashi Tharoor has explored the diversity of culture in India. Notably, he has produced both works of fiction and nonfiction. He’s also one of the most recognised writers from India, among the global diaspora, holding his own against the best. His contribution to making ‘Indian writing in English’, a global force is acknowledged by all,” said Maulik Desai, head of Crossword Bookstores.
Tharoor is a bestselling author of 18 books and has a proven track-record of producing literary works, both in fiction and non-fiction, that have lasting relevance. But his literary ventures began long before the publication of Reasons of State as Tharoor’s extraordinary talent and ability of toying with words found utterance at a relatively younger age.
His first publication, a short story, came at the age of 10 in Bharat Jyoti, a Sunday supplement in Free Press Journal newspaper. While he was still at school, the writer-in-making had already been accustomed to seeing his name in print as his contributions in the form of short stories and essays appeared in leading Indian newspapers and magazines.
Tharoor: expressive writing
