Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia, a poet, educator, social reformer, environmentalist, and freedom fighter, is remembered through the annual Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Poetry Award, presented by the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in collaboration with the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Foundation. The jury, consisting of Namita Gokhale, Sanjoy Roy, Jaiprakash Sethia, and Siddharth Sethia, has unanimously selected Arundhathi Subramaniam as the recipient of this award for the 2024 edition of the award.
Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia, renowned for his poem Dharti Dhora Re, considered the unofficial anthem of Rajasthan, left an indelible mark on the country’s literary landscape. A documentary film, Land of Sand Dunes, directed by Gautam Ghosh, based on Sethiaji’s anthem poem, received the National Award – the Golden Lotus from the Government of India. The poem was showcased at the 2016 Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.
Arundhathi Subramaniam, distinguished for her body of work, has been chosen by the jury to receive the Kanhaiya Lal Sethia Award for Poetry 2024. The award ceremony, featuring the jury citation and a cheque of Rs 100,000, will take place on Saturday, 3 February, at 2 pm at the front lawn during the 17th JLF.
Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia, a prolific writer in Hindi, Urdu, and Rajasthani, authored 42 books. Recognized with the Padma Shri in 2004 and Rajasthan Ratna in 2012, he embodied a spirit of social activism and environmental consciousness.
