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a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Zara Chowdhary wins the Shakti Bhatt Prize in its final year for her memoir ‘The Lucky Ones'
Zara Chowdhary was awarded the 2025 Shakti Bhatt Prize for her debut work, The Lucky Ones. Her memoir examines her family's trauma to document three months of sectarian violence in her hometown of Ahmedabad. Set during the 2002 riots, when Chowdhary was just 16, it is also the story of a trapped, severely dysfunctional family caught up in the tides of Indian history. Chowdhary will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. The Shakti Bhatt Prize will be discontinued after this year's award. Originally called The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, in later years it became a prize that honoured a writer's body of work. However, this year the prize ended the way it began in 2008 – by awarding a debut author. For 17 years, the Shakti Bhatt Prize has recognised literature from the South Asian subcontinent, giving the award to writers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India. Administered, judged, curated and funded by writers, the Prize was independent and did not involve any corporate sponsors. The Shakti Bhatt Foundation, which set up the prize, has received financial contributions from author and journalist TJS George, journalist Sheela Bhatt, and academic Thomas Kailath. The Shakti Bhatt Prize complete list of winners over the years: Mohammed Hanif, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, 2008 Mridula Koshy, If It Is Sweet, 2009 Samanth Subramanian, Following Fish, 2010 Jamil Ahmad, The Wandering Falcon, 2011 Naresh Fernandes, Taj Mahal Foxtrot, 2012 Nilanjana Roy, The Wildings, 2013 Bilal Tanweer, The Scatter Here is Too Great, 2014 Rohini Mohan, The Seasons of Trouble, 2015 Akshaya Mukul, Gita Press and the Making of India, 2016 Anuk Arudpragasam, The Story of a Brief Marriage, 2017 Sujatha Gidla, Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India, 2018 Tony Joseph, Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From, 2019 Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, Body of Work, 2020 The Shakti Bhatt Foundation did not award a literary prize in 2021, and instead made a donation towards Covid-19 relief work Manoranjan Byapari, Body of Work, 2022 CS Lakshmi (Ambai), Body of Work, 2023 Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Body of Work, 2024 Zara Chowdhary, The Lucky Ones, 2025
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Zara Chowdhary wins 2025 Shakti Bhatt award for debut memoir
Zara Chowdhary has won the 2025 Shakti Bhatt award for her debut memoir The Lucky Ones. Ms. Chowdhary is a writer, producer, and educator from Chennai, India. She spent her first decade as an adult working in film, advertising and media production. The book mines generational family trauma to document three months of sectarian violence in Ms. Chowdhary's hometown Ahmedabad during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Her account, when she was just 16, is also the story of a trapped, severely dysfunctional family caught up in the tides of Indian history. Prize to be discontinued Meanwhile, the Shakti Bhatt Foundation said the Prize would be discontinued after this year's award. 'We are pleased to end the prize the way it began, in 2008, by awarding a debut author,' an official statement issued by the foundation said. Originally called The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, in later years it became a prize that honoured a writer's body of work. For 17 years, the prize recognised and celebrated literature from the South Asian subcontinent, awarding writers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and every corner of India, it said. 'The Shakti Bhatt Foundation which set up the prize would not have succeeded without the financial backing of senior journalist, author and Padma Bhushan recipient TJS George, and contributions from journalist Sheela Bhatt and Hitachi America Professor of Engineering emeritus at Stanford University and Padma Bhushan awardee, Professor Thomas Kailath and author Arshia Sattar,' the statement added. Some of the earlier awardees include Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes, 2008), Mridula Koshy (If It Is Sweet, 2009), Akshaya Mukul (Gita Press and the Making of India, 2016), Tony Joseph (Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From, 2019) and Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha (Body of Work, 2020).
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Titagarh Rail Systems expects rapid growth in passenger rail business
1 2 Kolkata: City-based Titagarh Rail Systems (TRS) is expected to experience significant growth in its passenger rail business over the next few years. TRS deputy MD Prithish Chowdhary said that although TRS was known for being a wagon maker, the passenger vertical would overtake its freight business going forward. TRS is now manufacturing coaches for Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Surat and Pune Metro at its Uttarpara factory. "We entered the passenger rail business as the govt wanted to incentivise the sector. We are also manufacturing Metro coaches," he said. Chowdhary said the passenger rail business consisted of 5-6% of the company's total business last year. However, in the next few years, it is poised for a big leap. Chowdhary said that in the next 4-5 years, the passenger rail business has the potential to reach 50% or even 60%. He said the passenger order book is now 62%, while freight is 38%. The total order book of the company is Rs 24,500 crore. He said the company had already delivered 33 of the 34 trains ordered by Ahmedabad Metro. TRS diversified into the passenger segment in 2007. The company has facilities in Savona and Caserta in Italy. In India, it has facilities in Kolkata, Bharatpur, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore.
Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary demands judicial probe into Ahmedabad Air India plane crash: 'They don't use it for fun'
Following the tragic plane crash of Air India flight 171 near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said that with privatisation of air travel, there is a need for better safety and security checks in aircraft. The Congress leader also demanded an unbiased judicial probe into the incident. The Congress leader also said that the plane which crashed, a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, has faced technical problems before. "Today air travel is not just a luxury, but a necessity. People don't use it for fun, but for their work, which has increased the number of passengers too. That is why, with this, we should be paying more attention to the safety and security of aircraft. Dreamliner 787 was already having a technical snag, reportedly. It was also told that in 2024 itself, the technical snags will be fixed," the Congress leader told ANI here. "On one hand, we are privatising air travel and thus we need to pay more attention to the safety. Now, experts will come from America, Europe, the Black Box will be opened, everything will happen. But I want to say that before the incident even happened, if we had been even more careful then could we have prevented this? We need to find that out," Chowdhary said. "There should be an unbiased judicial probe in this matter, and this is my demand to the government," he added. Following the crash, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered enhanced safety inspections on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 fleet. As a preventive measure, the DGCA has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect, in coordination with the concerned regional DGCA offices. On Thursday, the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as flight AI 171, was en route to London from Ahmedabad when it crashed shortly after takeoff. There were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. There was only one survivor from the crash, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin who sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment. The AAIB has launched a full-scale investigation into the crash, with over 40 staff from the Gujarat State Government joining efforts to support the Ministry of Civil Aviation teams on the ground.
India Gazette
14-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Need to pay attention to safety, security of aircraft": Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary on AI 171 crash
New Delhi [India], June 14 (ANI): Following the tragic plane crash of Air India flight 171 near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said that with privatisation of air travel, there is a need for better safety and security checks in aircraft. The Congress leader also demanded an unbiased judicial probe into the incident. The Congress leader also said that the plane which crashed, a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, has faced technical problems before. 'Today air travel is not just a luxury, but a necessity. People don't use it for fun, but for their work, which has increased the number of passengers too. That is why, with this, we should be paying more attention to the safety and security of aircraft. Dreamliner 787 was already having a technical snag, reportedly. It was also told that in 2024 itself, the technical snags will be fixed,' the Congress leader told ANI here. 'On one hand, we are privatising air travel and thus we need to pay more attention to the safety. Now, experts will come from America, Europe, the Black Box will be opened, everything will happen. But I want to say that before the incident even happened, if we had been even more careful then could we have prevented this? We need to find that out,' Chowdhary said. 'There should be an unbiased judicial probe in this matter, and this is my demand to the government,' he added. Following the crash, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered enhanced safety inspections on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 fleet. As a preventive measure, the DGCA has directed Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect, in coordination with the concerned regional DGCA offices. On Thursday, the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as flight AI 171, was en route to London from Ahmedabad when it crashed shortly after takeoff. There were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. There was only one survivor from the crash, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin who sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment. The AAIB has launched a full-scale investigation into the crash, with over 40 staff from the Gujarat State Government joining efforts to support the Ministry of Civil Aviation teams on the ground. (ANI)
