Not many choose her way, but young Shahida Shabnum brought alive the anguish of women in the Kashmir Valley through her words in her native language and won the coveted Sanskriti Award which was presented to her today by former President A P J Abdul Kalam. 35-year-old Shabnum, a Kashmiri poetess, is among the five Young Achievers who were awarded the 2011 Sanskriti Awards for their contributions to the world of literature, journalism, art, music and social achievement. Presenting the prestigious awards to them at a glittering ceremony this evening, Kalam appreciated their efforts to bring about a change in the society through their works. "I am sure, the authors of great books, journalists, art exponents, talented musicians and social achievers have to promote in all their works the righteousness in the heart, that will give us one day, great human beings and great Indians," Kalam said in his address.
Journalist Rana Ayyub, Bangalore-based Abhishek Hazra, musician Murad Ali and social activist Vinayak Lohani are the other awardees. Shabnum is a writer, devoting her time and energy to writing poems and short stories in the Kashmiri language and her writings reflect the anguish of Muslim women under the present circumstances in Kashmir, the Sanskriti Pratishthan in the citation. Receiving the award, all the five receipents called it as a "great honour" and thanked everyone for making this happen. Ayyub, a journalist with Tehelka, was selected for her journalistic skills, while Hazra was chosen for his works that explore intersections between technology and culture through animated shorts and performance pieces. Lohani, an IIM graduate, who chose to work for under-privileged children despite having the option of going for a white-collar job, was inspired by Swami Vivekananda and started 'Parivaar' in 2003 with just 3 resident children.
