Jhumpa Lahiri selected for 2014 National Humanities Medal

Indian-American Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri has been selected for the prestigious 2014 National Humanities Medal of White House.
She has been selected for this award for enlarging the human story and will be presented with it by US President Barack Obama.
The award also recognizes her fictional works which have illuminated the Indian-American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging.

About Jhumpa Lahiri

• Her original name is Nilanjana Sudeshna.
• Her Work: Her debut short story collection Interpreter of Maladies (1999) has won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
• Her first novel was Namesake (2003) was adapted in a movie with the same name which was directed by Mira Nair. Suresh Kalpenn acted in this movie.
• The Lowland (2013) it was nominee for the Man Booker Prize.
• Currently, she is Professor of creative writing at Princeton University.

About National Humanities Medal

• It is an annual award given by US President.
• Established: It had succeeded annual Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities (established in 1988) in 1996.
• Bestowed on persons, groups or institutions in recognition for their work which has deepened United States understanding of the humanities, broadened US citizens’ engagement with the humanities or helped to preserve and expand US’s access to important resources in the humanities.
• Since its inception in 1996 it has been bestowed upon (including this year’s) 175 recipients, 163 individuals and 12 organisations.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2015