Saraswati Samman 2008 conferred to Assamese writer Lakshmi Nandan Bora

Noted Assamese writer Lakshmi Nandan Bora will be honoured with the prestigious Saraswati Samman for 2008 this year i.e. in 2009 for his novel 'Kayakalpa'.

The award, instituted by the K K Birla Foundation in 1991, is given every year for an outstanding literary work in any Indian language mentioned in the schedule VIII of the Constitution and published during the past 10 years.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs five lakh.

Bora, who won the Sahitya Akademi award for his 1986 novel 'Patal Bhairavi', is considered as one of the foremost men of letters in Assam today.

'Kayakalpa' was chosen for the award after consideration of works published in 22 Indian languages by a selection committee headed by former Chief Justice of India G B Patnaik.

Past Recipients:

* 1991 - Harivanshrai 'Bachchan' for his autobiography in four volumes
* 1992 - Ramakant Rath
* 1993 - Vijay Tendulkar
* 1994 - Harbhajan Singh
* 1995 - Balamani Amma for poetry collection Nivedyam
* 1996 - Shamsur Rahman Faruqi for She`r-e Shor-Angez
* 1997 - Manubhai Pancholi
* 1998 - Shankha Ghosh for his anthology Gandharba Kabitaguccha
* 1999 - Indira Parthasarathy
* 2000 - Manoj Das for his novel Amrita Phala (The Nectar Fruit)
* 2001 - Dalip Kaur Tiwana for her novel Katha Kaho Urvashi
* 2002 - Mahesh Elkunchwar for his play Yugant
* 2003 - Govind Chandra Pande for his collection of 163 Sanskrit poems entitled Bhagirathi
* 2004 - Sunil Gangopadhyay for his novel Pratham Alo
* 2005 - K. Ayyappa Panicker for his collection of poems Ayyappa Panikarude Kritikal
* 2006 - Jagannath Prasad Das for his collection of poems Parikrama written in Oriya
* 2007 - Naiyer Masud for his collection of short stories Taoos Chaman Ki Myna (The Myna from Peacock Garden) written in Urdu
* 2008 - Lakshmi Nandan Bora for his novel Kayakalpa written in Assamese