KARACHI: Eminent writer, translator, publisher and founder of literary festivals in Pakistan Asif Farrukhi, who passed away on June 1 this year, was given the lifetime achievement award at the 9th UBL Literary Awards (2020) ceremony held online on Tuesday night.

It was thoughtful of the judges and organisers of the awards to recognise the invaluable services that Mr Farrukhi rendered to the world of literature. Many were expecting that after his untimely death at the age of 60, there would be some kind of official recognition from the federal or Sindh government for him, but that didn’t happen. It is in this context that this edition of the awards, which couldn’t be announced at a formal gathering because of the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, assumed extra significance for literature buffs.

The list of awards is as follows:

URDU

In the ‘debut in Urdu’ category, Riyaz Ahmed won for his book Shajar-i-Hayat. The winner for the most outstanding translation was Tayyaba Tehsin for Hikayat-i-Spencer. Syed Kashif Raza won the award for best book in fiction for his novel Chaar Darvesh Aur Aik Kacchwa. In the non-fiction category, Azmat Ansari won for Yaadon Kay Dareechey. The winners in the ‘literature for children category’ were Zara Mumtaz for Nanhey Geet Aur Nazmein and Ahmed Adnan Tariq for Kahanion Wala Kalam. And the poetry book in Urdu which won the prize was Mauhoom Ki Mahak by Abrar Ahmed.

ENGLISH

In the category ‘best debut English’ the award went to Haroon Khalid Akhtar for his book Melody of a Tear. Amina Azfar won in the children’s literature category for her book Perween Rehman. In the nonfiction category Tariq Rahman won the award for Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia, and in fiction Uzma Aslam Khan won for The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2020