Vishnu Surya Wagh was recently awarded the
Dilip Paigude Sahitya Puraskar, an annual award for one’s contribution to
Literature. He is the first Goan to receive this award since its inception in
1994. Instituted by Dada Gaonkar Samajik Prathishthan, Mumbai, Wagh will be
formally presented the award on August 22, 2015 at the hands of Vinod Tawde,
Minister for Education and C ultural
Affairs, Maharashtra. “It is a huge honour for me as I will be honoured for my
work in poetry, dramatics and journalism,” says Wagh, who has been writing for
more than three decades.
As the Chairman of Kala Academy, Vishnu
recently organised Kavya Hotra, a national poets meet to recite their poems in
all Indian languages. “It was a unique event and we had requested the Guinness
World Records and Limca Book of Records to review the programme with 48 straight
hours of poetry recitation,” says Wagh.
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However, he is not very happy with the
current state of poetry in Goa. “The poetry scene in Goa is not very inspiring.
I have been to poetry recitation programmes in neighbouring states where things
are very different; there some programmes are held in stadiums like in Kolhapur
where 30,000 people attended one particular programme. It is important to
understand that poetry is a unifying force which encompasses basic human
emotions. It is a link which connects the globe and takes you closer to God and
your inner self,” says Vishnu.
