Dear all,
The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize is back with its shortlist, despite many shortcomings.
This time, it returns without a monetary award, offering instead reputation, influence, and the recognition of our panel of judges, who are responsible for selecting winners from hundreds of nominees. Whether the absence of a cash prize affects the value of the award is for others to decide; however, we have chosen to proceed with our shortlist nonetheless.
Difficult times and shifts in values have made securing sponsors more challenging. Our former sponsors have chosen to dedicate their generous, selfless support and resources to medical causes, including extensive and ongoing international treatment for our founder, Peter Bundalo.
Our eleven shortlisters are ready to be revealed. It goes without saying that choosing only eleven was an exceptionally difficult task. Each nominee is outstanding in unique and compelling ways, fully deserving of a place on the list. And now, here they are – with Judges’ Commentary:
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, “Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” Finishing Line Press, 2024 — a poetry collection.
“Trespassing My Ancestral Lands” is a work by a priestess of ancestral knowledge on a quest for self-discovery. Written with wisdom that borders on shamanic, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis’s collection of poetry depicts female resilience in the face of emotional and physical uprootedness caused by cultural divides, wars, and the heritage of gender traumas passed through generations.
Malashri Lal, “Mandalas of Time,” Hawakal, 2024 — a poetry collection.
Malashri Lal’s poetry, though marked by a sense of dual impermanence, as the title suggests, presents perfect units of wholeness viewed through an authentic female lens, one that refracts tradition and heritage with the modern, doing so delicately and gracefully, yet with courage and depth.
Alka Balain, “Parijat: Petals of Longing and Seeking,” Hawakal, 2024 — a poetry collection.
The poems in this debut collection reflect both a yearning for transcendence and the pull of the tangible, the sensual, the essence of Creation. There is a mystical quality that envelops the reader, an experience that eludes words yet nourishes the spirit, hidden within the verses of Alka Balain.
Mrinalini Harchandrai, “Rescuing a River Breeze,” Bloomsbury, 2023 — a novel.
“Rescuing a River Breeze” captures a pivotal moment in Goa’s history, told through the lyrical language of a poet. The vivid, atmospheric descriptions allow readers to almost smell and taste a fleeting glimpse of the past, while the story of coming-of-age, identity, and young love makes this novel a true page-turner.
Bitan Chakraborty, “The Blight and Seven Short Stories,” translated from Bengali by Malati Mukherjee, Shambhabi The Third Eye Imprint, 2024 — a short story collection.
Bitan Chakraborty’s “Blight and Seven Short Stories” explores themes of rivalry, greed, and betrayal against a backdrop of looming doom. Each story reveals the dark side of human nature, from small jealousies to devastating acts of treachery, starkly exposing our most predatory instincts.
Sanjukta Dasgupta, “Indomitable Draupadi,” Hawakal, 2022 — a poetry collection.
Sanjukta Dasgupta is a poetic activist, confronting injustices against women within a culture of distorted roles, expectations, and values. In “Indomitable Draupadi” the traditional role model becomes a symbol of resilience, suffering, and isolation, a theme that extends through tragic accounts of horrific crimes against women, exposing violations on every level with unflinching precision, sharp wit, and a touch of sarcasm. Her poetry is heartbreakingly powerful and profoundly empathetic.
Siddarth Dasgupta, “A Moveable East,” Red River, 2021 — a poetry collection.
Siddharth Dasgupta, a bard and troubadour of nostalgia and sensuality, has again earned a spot on the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize shortlist. With his poetry collection, A Moveable East, he once again demonstrates his undeniable originality, lavish language, and refined ability to capture the reader’s imagination.
Lopa Ghosh, “Age of Mondays,” HarperCollins Publishers India, 2025 — a novel.
“Age of Mondays” is a beautiful piece of fiction that flows with the richness and pain of existence, seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl. The world is filled with uncertainty, and though parental love is present and true, it feels achingly askew. The realities of looming loss, terminal illness, and misfortune are unmistakably etched into the young girl’s psyche, where reality blurs with fantasy and nightmares. Lopa Ghosh is a true master of the human experience, so much so that she transcends terminology, entering the realm of impression and feeling in a preteen’s mind. Her writing leaves traces so vividly etched into the reader’s psyche that they verge on physical ache.
Kavita A. Jindal, “The Planet Spins on Its Axis, Regardless,” Serving House Books, 2025 — a short story collection.
“The Planet Spins on Its Axis, Regardless” is a collection of short stories that navigate a wide range of themes, from contemporary issues to evolving value systems and societal and cultural crashes, even venturing into the futuristic, all while entertaining and captivating the reader.
Aruna Chakravarti, “The Mendicant Prince,” Picador India, 2022 — a novel.
Aruna Chakravarti’s novel recounts the remarkable story of the last scion of Bhawal, the beloved Raja of a zamindari in colonial Bengal. Meticulously researched and grounded in extensive historical and legal records from the famed Bhawal case, this work of historical fiction focuses on the perspective of the women in the family, educated, perceptive, and often more refined than their royal husbands, giving voice to those long unheard, offering a fresh, intimate view of a legendary chapter in Bengal’s history.
Shabir Ahmad Mir, “The Last Knot,” Macmillan, 2025, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Publishing India — a novel.
In “The Last Knot,” Shabir Ahmad Mir constructs scenarios of the worst possible existence, realities born from the absence of choice, an idea so often denied in today’s narratives of individual agency. It stands as the antithesis of the will to live, a dark synthesis of existence: powerful, nightmarish, and archetypically frightening.
The winner of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2024-2025, will be revealed on December 23rd, 2025. The announcement will take place on our official website tagoreprize.com and across our social media platforms @tagoreprize.
In the spirit of Rabindranath Tagore’s enduring legacy — where literature meets humanity and words inspire action — we are proud to celebrate not only literary brilliance but also the courage and compassion that shape our world.
We invite you to join us in honoring these remarkable individuals whose contributions continue to illuminate the path toward a more compassionate, thoughtful, and inspired world. As we celebrate their achievements, we also celebrate the enduring relevance of Tagore’s vision — one that reminds us that literature and humanity are forever intertwined.
Congratulations to all the laureates — your light leads the way.
With Love,
TagorePrize
Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize is a legacy to Rabindranath Tagore, his outstanding contribution to Indian and international literature, as well as to the cultural, educational and humane ideas he pursued throughout his life.
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