kozhikode l saturday l may 28, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION booker moment for Geetanjali’s translated work S i m i K ur i ak o s e @ New Delhi For Delhi-based writer Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell, their novel Tomb of Sand fetching the super-prestigious International Booker Prize was an epic moment. The award was a first for any Indian language book, and the first time a Hindi book made it to the Inter- national Booker shortlist. “I accept it with a lot of humility, happiness and pride. I am very happy that I became a medium for the world to now take notice of Hindi. People should realise that, just like in Hindi, other Indian languages also have a literary world that they must become aware of,” shared Shree. The book was originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi in 2018. Namita Gokhale, writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “It has been translated with skill, empathy and exuberance. It is a proud moment for Hindi, the third-most spoken language in the world, and for all of Indian writing.” Satyanand Nirupam, editori- al director of the publishing house, Rajkamal Prakashan, said: “We were very confident about this novel when we published it in 2018.” Noted Indian translator Arunava Sinha said, “this is a book that says ‘give up everything else, just come and spend time with me and we will journey we , will travel.’ While reading this book, you are forced to acknowledge the writing, the words, the sounds, etc., and that makes for such a satisfying experience, so removed from the way we consume art nowadays.” Such recognition also provides impetus to homegrown writers and translators. “The new generation lacked enthusiasm in or was confused about the rich heritage of Hindi literature. In such a period, to have this win is only going to attract people towards the language,” added Nirupam. Stressing that there exists “brilliant and relevant contemporary writing” in Indian languages, Gokhale concluded, “We need to break out of the hegemony of English.” CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Biju Menon, Joju, Revathy bag best actor awards Biju Menon and Joju George shared the best actor award while Revathy was adjudged the Biju Menon best actress in the 52nd Kerala State Film Awards announced in Thiruvananthapuram Joju George on Friday. Dileesh Pothan bagged the best-director prize for Joji while Revathy Krishand R K-directed experimental movie Avasavyooham was declared the best film. P4 Dileesh Pothan MAJOR AWARDS Best Actor: Biju Menon ( Aarkkariyam ) & Joju George ( Madhuram, Freedom Fight, Thuramukham and Naayaattu ) Actress: Revathy ( Bhoothakaalam ) Film: Avasavyooham (Dir: Krishand R K) Director: Dileesh Pothan ( Joji ) Character Actor: Sumesh Moor (Kala ) Character Actress: Unnimaya Prasad ( Joji ) Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value: Hridayam Story: Shahi Kabeer ( Nayattu ) Screenplay Writer: Krishand R K ( Avasavyooham ) Composer: Hesham Abdul Wahab ( Hridayam ) Cinematographer: Madhu Neelakantan ( Churuli ) EXPRESS READ 7 soldiers killed as vehicle falls into Ladakh river New Delhi: Seven soldiers were killed and 19 injured in Ladakh’s Turtuk sector on Friday morning when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged 50-60 feet into the Shyok river, Army officials said. The injured, some of them seriously, have been shifted to the Command Hospital in Chandimandir in Haryana’s Panchkula district | P8 No proof, Aryan’s name cleared in narcotics case S udh i r S ur yawansh i @ Mumbai A year after he was arrested in connection with a party drug haul, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday cleared the name of Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the case. The NCB’s special investigation team (SIT) did not find any evidence of drugs or other related substance on Aryan or the other five accused. “The touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied... a complaint against 14 persons under various sections of NDPS Act is being filed. Complaint against rest six persons is not being filed due to lack of sufficient evidence,” a note signed by Sanjay Kumar Singh, deputy director general of NCB read. It all began on October 2, 2021 when NCB Mumbai in- File photo of Aryan Khan | PTI tercepted Vikrant, Ishmeet, Arbaaz, Aryan and Gomit at the International Port Terminal in Mumbai and Nupur, Mohak and Munmun at the Cordelia Cruise. Aryan did not have drugs with him. Yet, he was forced to sign papers admitting he was in possession of drugs. On the basis of the self-declaration in NCB custody, he was put behind bars, the note added. According to officials, Aryan was arrested on the assumption that his friend was the drug carrier. “But the SIT found that Aryan’s friend was not carrying any drugs for him. In fact, Aryan had told him to carry drugs. Besides, no drug was found on Aryan during the raid. He was also not subjected to a medical test to verify if he had consumed any narcotic. Even in Aryan’s What’sApp chat record, no substantial evidence was found to file and pursue the case. Therefore, the charges framed by Mumbai NCB have been dropped against Aryan and other five,” an NCB official said. THE NCB Mumbai operation was led by Sameer Wankhede, but NCP minister Nawab Malik called it an extortion racket and outed the former’s fake caste certificate, following which he was replaced as the probe officer. With the NCB now giving Aryan a clean chit, the Centre ordered a full-scale probe against Wankhade. Household savings soar to two-decade high 70% DROP IN TRANSFER TO GOVT Savings in the household financial sector surged as much as 3.6% points to 11.5% of gross national disposable income in FY21 — the highest in over two decades CURRENCY IN CIRCULATION The value of currency in circulation up 10% to A31.05L cr in FY22, constituting 13% of GDP At the time of demonetisation, the value of currency in circulation was around A18 lakh crore L2,000 notes 24,510 lakh 31 March 2021 31 March 2022 21,420 lakh The value of total 2000 bank notes in circulation in FY22 was L4.28 lakh crore in against L4.90 lakh crore in FY21 EXPENDITURE UP, SURPLUS DOWN RBI surplus fell from H99,122 crore in 2020-21 to H30,307 crore due to a 280% jump in expenditure The expenditure includes provisioning of L1.14 lakh crore towards contingency funds RBI paid only H30,307.45 crore to the government in FY22, which was 69.42% lower than `99,122 crore paid in FY21 This was because RBI’s transfer to the contingency fund shot up to H1.14 lakh crore in FY22 against H20,710 cr transferred in FY21 COST OF PRINTING CURRENCY RBI spent L4,985 crore for printing currency notes in FY22, a 25% increase from L4,012 crore a year ago R I S K O F H I G H I N F L AT I O N Sounding a note of caution, the Reserve Bank of India said there is a risk of high wholesale price inflation putting pressure on the retail inflation, albeit with a lag RBI said structural reforms are essential for sustained, balanced and inclusive growth, and to deal with the post-pandemic world | P10 H61.9 Lakh Crore RBI’s balance sheet increased by 8.46% to J61.9 lakh crore in FY22 Source: RBI annual report