The Hindu : New Delhi News : Pande given Saraswati Samman

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Pande given Saraswati Samman

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 6. The Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, today conferred the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the year 2003 on eminent litterateur, Govind Chandra Pande, for his collection of 163 Sanskrit poems titled "Bhagirathi". The award instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation consists

of a prize money of Rs. 5 lakhs and a citation.

At a well-attended function at National Museum, Mr. Shekhawat praised Prof. Pande's work and said: "I have read the "Bhagirathi" three times and can say that Prof. Pande is passionately trying to popularise the beautiful Sanskrit language. We have inherited the Sanskrit language and we should popularise it not only throughout the country but also in other parts of the world."

Acknowledging the honour bestowed on him, Prof. Pande said: "The Bhagirathi is not only a purifying stream of water but it came down to the earth as a result of our ancestors' prayers. Indian culture and history appears to me as a literary stream. Bhagirathi is resonant with many notes but history, nature and consciousness are its main themes. Consciousness, language, time and nature are the four dimensions of existence. Consciousness is denoted by language and time mediates and creates history. Time and memory have a special place. The awareness of these subjects, on the one hand, gives birth to sorrow of lost things, and on the other hand, its identity is created by awakening future possibilities. The great beauty of nature suggests such transcendental feelings. To plunge deep into consciousness, to discover, and search for the essential truth is a major direction in Bhagirathi."

The Chairman of the selection committee, Justice G.B. Patnaik, said: "Responding to the beauty in nature and the tenderness and tension in human relationships, the elegant craftsmanship of a wordsmith has a philosophical quest which sharpens the inner consciousness and reviled memories. Sanskrit has lost its prominence in our country and in the world. Even though Prof. Pande taught history, his quest for literature never got hindered."

The President of K.K.Birla Foundation, K.K.Birla said: "Prof. Pande has studied literature, arts and aesthetics in depth. He is a multidimensional scholar, a leading historian and a renowned litterateur."

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