59th Jnanpith Award

• Vinod Kumar Shukla, a famous Hindi poet and writer from Chhattisgarh, has been selected for the Jnanpith Award.

• The award, considered the highest literary honour of the country, was announced in New Delhi on March 22.

• Mr Shukla, who lives in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, was born on January 1, 1947 in Rajnandgaon.

• His first collection of poems 'Laabhg Jai Hind' was published in 1971.

• His novels 'Naukar Ki Kameez', 'Khilega To Dekhenge' and 'Deewar Mein Ek Khidki' are considered the best Hindi novels.