S Hareesh's 'Meesha' wins 46th Vayalar Award

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 46th Vayalar Award was awarded to S Hareesh for the novel 'Meesha'. The award carries prize money of Rs 1 lakh and a sculpture. S. Hareesh responded that he is very happy to receive the award named after Vayalar Ramavarma.

The award-winning work was selected today at 10 am at Muscat Hotel's Symphony Hall. Then at 12 pm Trust President Perumbadavam Sreedharan announced the award in a press conference held at the 'Harmony' conference hall. The decision to give the award to Meesha was taken as it was the best work among the ones that came up for consideration. It was a novel that caused a great deal of discussion and controversy. Many organizations had come forward against the novel that presented the caste life in Kerala before the 1950s in a Dalit context. There have also been threats against Hareesh. There were several attempts to withdraw the books.