May 2018 Awards

• Man Booker International Prize for Olga Tokarczuk
  Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has won the Man Booker International Prize for her novel 'Flights'. The novel, translated by Jennifer Croft, interweaves narratives of travel with explorations of the human body. It bagged the 67,000 US dollar prize after topping a shortlist of six titles, with Tokarczuk becoming the first Polish writer to win the award. Other finalists included Iraqi writer Ahmed Saadawi’s horror story 'Frankenstein in Baghdad' and South Korean author Han Kang’s meditative novel 'The White Book'. 
  
  
  Announcing the winner at a ceremony in London, head judge Lisa Appignanesi said, Tokarczuk is a writer of wonderful wit, imagination and literary panache. 
  
  
  The Man Booker International Prize celebrates the English translations of works of international literature. 
  
  
• Lata Mangeshkar conferred with the Swarna Mauli award
  Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar was honoured with the Swara Mauli title by Shankarcharya Vidyanarsimha Bharati Swami. The veteran singer has several awards to her credit in her over seven-decade-long career, including three National Awards. Mangeshkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country, in 2001 - the second vocalist, after MS Subbulakshmi to receive the honour. 
  
  
• Sitanshu Yashaschandra
  Gujarati poet, playwright and academic Sitanshu Yashaschandra were selected for 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses (poetry) titled “Vakhar” published in 2009. 
  
  
  Sitanshu Yashaschandra was born in 1941 in Gujarat’s Bhuj district. He has three poetry collections Odysseusnu Halesu, Jatayu, and Vakhar to his credit. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award. 
  
  
• President Ram Nath Kovind presented the 65th National Film Awards at a function in New Delhi
  President Ram Nath Kovind on 3rd May presented the 65th National Film Awards at a function in New Delhi. Late Vinod Khanna was conferred Indian cinema's highest honour Dadasaheb Phalke award posthumously for his contribution to Indian cinema. 
  
  
  Late Sridevi was given Best Actress award posthumously for her role in Hindi movie - Mom. 
  
  
  Riddhi Sen was given award for Best Actor for his role in Bengali film - Nagarkirtan. Assamese Film Village Rockstars was awarded for the Best Feature Film. Jayaraj received the Best Director award for the Malayalam movie Bhayanakam. Baahubali-2 received the award for Best Popular Film for Providing Wholesale Entertainment.