The Sushila Devi Award was given away at the prestigious Bhopal Literature and Art Festival to Anukrti Upadhyay by historian and Sahitya Akademi awardee Vikram Sampath in the presence of Dr Sandeep Shastri, BLF Director Raghav Chandra, environmentalist Abhilash Khandekar and BLF co-Director Meera Das. 

Citation: The Sushila Devi Award, 2021
Winner declaration and Citation
 
The Sushila Devi Award for the best book of fiction written by a woman author for 2021 goes to Anukrti Upadhyay for her novel Kintsugi. Set primarily in India and Japan, the story explores intercultural relationships through a tapestry of perspectives on art and social practices. A beautifully crafted novel based on the central idea of ‘Kintsugi’ or the skill of joining fragmented bits with precious artistry, the quiet flow of emotions is richly nuanced. While the novel reads easily due to an engrossing plot line, the complex narrative is woven with finesse to leave no loose ends.  The author builds a web of life that is authentic to the cultures but transcends them to reach towards a universal humanism.  A remarkable feat in imaginative extension and also firmly grounded on cultural reality, this book holds a wide appeal for a global literary audience.    
The jury comprising of writers and academics Malashri Lal, GJV Prasad and Sukrita Paul Kumar noted the high quality of the book submissions which ranged from novels by established, internationally known writers as well as debut novelists. The subjects were equally diverse from classical historical renderings to experimental speculative fiction. Now in its fourth year, the Sushila Devi award has gained a prestigious position in the literary sphere. Previous winners have been  Namita Gokhale (Things To Leave Behind),  Shubhangi Swarup (Latitudes of Longing) and Avni Doshi (Girl in White Cotton). The award carries a generous value of Rs. two lakhs given by the family Trust of  Shri Ratan Lal.