New Delhi: Dnyaneshwar Mulay, who is called the ‘Passport Man of India’ has been selected to receive the ‘Nilimarani Sahitya Samman’ 2025, informed eminent litterateur and editor of ‘Kadambini,’ the highest circulated monthly family magazine of Odisha, Dr Iti Samanta.
In a press meet at the India International Centre today, Samanta made the announcement about the winner of the ‘Nilimarani Sahitya Samman’ 2025. She said that the profiles of a host of writers were securitized and finally the five-member jury of the ‘Nilimarani Sahitya Samman’ selected Dnyaneshwar Mulay for his passionate contribution to the field of literature and dedicated himself for it.
The cash award this year has been increased to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 5 lakh, she added.
In his reaction after he was selected for the coveted award, Mulay said, “I have received several literary honours in the past, but I consider ‘Nilimarani Sahitya Samman’ is the best as through this one language has honoured/respected another language (he writes mostly in Marathi). I consider the award (Nilimarani Sahitya Samman) as a great award as several eminent writes including Arundhati Roy, Namita Gokhale and Mridula Garg have been conferred with the prestigious award. For me, it is very unique and supernatural.”
Remembering how late Nilimarani Samanta faced hurdles to bring and brought up her children with dignity, Mulay said, “I have seen how she had struggled to bring and brought up her children and made them great and among them two ratnas – Achyuta Samanta and Iti Samanta – are not just the putra ratna and kanya ratna of Odisha but the entire India. And getting this award which they have nurtured since long is something extraordinary for me. And it has a special place among all the awards I have received till date.”
Mulay is the former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and had served in several capacities, including the Consul General of India, New York, and the High Commissioner of India, Male, Maldives. This apart, he is a successful writer and has written over 15 books, which have been translated in Arabic, Dhivehi, Urdu, Kannada and Hindi. His magnum-opus – Maati, Pankh ani Akash, written in Marathi, has received immense popularity and has also been prescribed in the Arts curriculum at the North Maharasthra University, Jalgaon (Maharashtra). He has inspired a number of socio-educational projects including Balodyan, an orphanage in his native village, and the Dnyaneshwar Mulay Education Society, which seeks to introduce innovative concepts like Global Education.
