Shashi Tharoor also shared his picture with Gulzar. (File)
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday congratulated renowned poet-lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar, who has been named as the recipient of the 58th Jnanpith Award. Sharing a picture of the 89-year-old lyricist, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he "richly deserved" this prestigious award.
"Warmest congratulations to Gulzar Sahib on winning India's highest literary award for lifetime achievement, the Jnanpith Award, for his extraordinary services to Urdu poetry. Richly deserved! One of those rare accolades applauded both by the general public & the cognoscenti,” he said.
Mr Tharoor also shared his picture with Gulzar and wrote, “I will always remember his kindness in honouring me when I won the Sahitya Akademi award. Pranaams to the one and only Gulzar Sahib!”
The Jnanpith selection committee on Saturday announced Gulzar as the recipient of the 58th Jnanpith Award along with Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.
The statement by the Jnanpith selection committee said, "It has been decided to give the award (for 2023) to eminent writers from two languages: Sanskrit litterateur Jagadguru Rambhadracharya and well-known Urdu litterateur Shri Gulzar."
Gulzar, popularly known for his work in the Hindi film industry, is considered one of the finest Urdu poets of this era.
In 2002, he was felicitated with the Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu. In 2004, he was honoured with Padma Bhushan while in 2013 he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He has also received six National Film awards for his works.
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, is a well-known Hindu spiritual leader and educator. He has written more than 100 books.