Souhardya De, 17, is a champion for the cause of Indian Art, Culture, Heritage and History. Republic Day celebrations always bring along with itself the announcement that an Indian civilian longs for: the civilian honours.
This year, 32 extraordinary champions for their causes, were awarded with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar, the highest civilian honour “bestowed upon exceptional Indian citizens under the age of 18”. The original felicitations are held in the Durbar Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, a week preceding the Republic Day parade each year but this year is quite different. A virtual interaction has been held by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women and Child Development, Ms. Smriti Irani, congratulating the awardees on their exemplary accomplishments and on winning this national laurel.
Amongst the 32 children that have been honoured, Souhardya De, an author, art and culture columnist and podcaster has been conferred this award in the field of art and culture through the medium of literature.
As stated in a reportage by the India TV, “Master Souhardya De is 16 years old and hails from Medinipur West district of West Bengal. He is an Indian author of historical fiction and mythology, and an art and culture columnist. He always aims to revive and reinvigorate Indian heritage and culture by rewriting Indian mythology and history in a way that is appealing to today’s generation. Souhardya is the youngest ever Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. For his second book titled Chronicles of Suryavansh, he was awarded by the India Book of Records in 2019. Master Souhardya De is being awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2021 for his excellence in the field of Art & Culture.”
Souhardya is a columnist and writes articles of high repute regularly for the Sunday Guardian and Lokmat Times Zest. Talking about how he felt after the recognition, De comments, “I feel gratified that I’m someone who’s been chosen amongst the few, for this honour. Honestly, this inspires me to move forward with my columns, my research and my upcoming work in particular!”
Souhardya’s upcoming book, tentatively titled, “A Dynastic Decimation”, based on the Mughal History, will be out from the famed Rupa Publications India soon!