Sahitya awards for Megh, Nachhattar

Chandigarh, December 22 : Founder head of the Hindi Department at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and literary critic Ramesh Kuntal Megh has been conferred with the Sahitya Akademi Award for Hindi literature for his book of literary criticism, Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar.
Delhi-based writer Nachhattar too has been awarded for his Punjabi novel “Slow Down”. Hailing from Barnala and settled in Delhi since 1982, where Nachhattar retired as a branch manager with Central Bank, he worked as a clerk at PAU, Ludhiana, as well.  Often called an “obscure” literary critic, Megh, when contacted, said “those who work honestly also sometimes get awards”, before signing off, saying he was too tired for an interview. But as soon as the announcement of the award for Megh came, the Hindi literary world in Punjab was abuzz with anecdotes. Like how once Megh’s teacher Hazari Prasad Dwivedi said to him, “Ramesh, you have read a lot, now sit down and it is time to chew on it.”