Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2021: The Awards Ceremony

The awards ceremony for the Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2021, took place in Kodaikanal on October 2. 

Radha Kumar, the founder and primary donor of the prize set the context by speaking about why she initiated the prize. We, at Out of Print, had had the privilege of engaging with her in a conversation after the announcement of the first awards in 2019 where she explained why the prize was aimed at students: 

‘We routinely celebrate Gandhi but we do not read him or practise his ideas and methods. So, the impromptu group that we formed for the prize decided that we would aim at the 10+2 students with the requirement that their entries show their reading and absorption of Gandhi's philosophy, whether they agree with it or not.’

This year’s questions allowed the students to analyse Gandhi and present arguments to show what they felt about the relevance of his philosophy today.

Ramachandra Guha gave an animated talk on the evolution Gandhi’s thinking and how his attitude to race, caste and gender developed over time. 

I was honoured to be able to announce the prize winners, whose works were variously thoughtful, well-researched, deeply felt, and all which were impressive.

Rajni George from the Kodai Chronicle closed the session by thanking the many people who had helped manage the awards.

Before listing the prize winners, I quote from the poem ‘A Mark of Resistance’ by Adrienne Rich, Poetry, August 1957, that I presented at the ceremony. To me it evoked the point that Radha made when the prize was first initiated. After attempting to interest numerous individuals and institutions in reviving the relevance of Gandhi without success she said, ‘Finally, I felt it was important to take an individual initiative, however small it might be, and in keeping with Gandhi's spirit, it had to start at home.’

In Rich's poem, she speaks of a cairn, a pile of stones that is used as a marker or a landmark:

                    A pile of stones: an assertion

                    that this piece of country matters

                    for large and simple reasons.

                    A mark of resistance, a sign.

The prize winners are listed below. The essays and other submissions will be published shortly.

THE PRIZE WINNERS:

First prize (shared): 

• Jahnavi Desai, Fravashi International Academy, Nashik

• Nikhil Joseph, Hebron School, Ooty

Creative Expression prize Awarded by Out of Print Journal

• Hania Rashid, Delhi Public School Srinagar, Srinagar

Second prize (shared)

• Sara Daniel, Delhi Public School Noida, Noida

• Noor Sabharwal, Neev Academy, Bangalore

Third prize (shared)

• Annapoorani Pandian, The Gandhigram Rural Institute, Dindigul District

• Deeksha Pasupulati, The Kodaikanal International School, Kodaikanal

First prize (Tamil)

• Abitha A, The RC Higher Secondary School, Trichy

Second prize (Tamil)

• Shasswatha, Fairlands A Foundation School, Puduppatti, Theni District

 

Honorable Mentions

• Jasmine Beth Kurian, Hebron School, Ooty

• Samuael Earnest Kantharaj, The Kodaikanal International School, Kodaikanal

• Pranvi Khare, Neev Academy, Bangalore

• Shatakshee Kar, Delhi Public School Noida

• Shourya Sharma, Delhi Public School Noida

• Shasswatha, Fairlands A Foundation School, 

Author: Dr. Indira Chandrasekhar, founder and principal editor of the literary journal Out of Print.