Awards Are Footnotes, Not Foundations: Anish Kanjilal’s Stirring Message at Adamas University
At a thought-provoking literary panel hosted by Kolkata’s renowned Adamas University, celebrated author and educator Anish Kanjilal delivered a powerful address that challenged one of the most enduring assumptions in the creative world: Do awards truly define an author’s worth?
recognition. These examples, he noted, remind us that the worth of a writer is measured not by medals, but by the courage and originality of their thought.
Tagore, Shakespeare, and the Immortal Power of Ideas
Moving closer to home, Kanjilal reflected on Rabindranath Tagore, whose Gitanjali found global acclaim thanks to the advocacy of artist William Rothenstein and the
endorsement of W.B. Yeats. Tagore’s Nobel Prize was historic—but Kanjilal reminded the audience that even without it, Tagore’s literary influence would remain colossal.
He then turned to William Shakespeare, revered across centuries despite the complete absence of formal literary awards in his era. Shakespeare unknowingly pioneered
psychological concepts—paranoia, psychosis, guilt—through characters like Hamlet and Macbeth long before psychology became a formal discipline in 1879. And yet, his works endure, studied and performed more than 400 years later.
“Shakespeare didn’t need trophies,” Kanjilal noted. “His readers became his legacy.”
The Bias Behind Many Modern Awards
Kanjilal also offered an incisive critique of how geography, politics, and institutional bias influence modern awards.
The Pulitzer Prize is limited strictly to American citizens.
The Costa Book Awards cater only to writers based in specific regions.
Such restrictions, he argued, often shrink the global literary conversation and exclude deserving voices. Some institutions, he added with a smile, even organize competitions only to reward themselves—an irony not lost on the audience.
Genius Recognized Only After Death
Highlighting the tragic disconnect between awards and true talent, Kanjilal invoked the case of H.P. Lovecraft, the father of cosmic horror who died in poverty and obscurity.
Only after his death did the world recognize his pioneering genius—another reminder that awards often fail to detect brilliance in real time.
A Call to Bring Modern Voices Into the Classroom
Kanjilal concluded with a compelling appeal: modern educational curricula must make room for contemporary writers. While classical authors remain vital, he argued that today’s students need literature that reflects the complexities, fears, aspirations, and realities of the modern world.
“A Writer Lives Through Ideas, Not Medals.”
In his closing words, Kanjilal returned to the theme that framed his entire address:
“Awards can encourage, but they cannot define. A writer lives through their ideas, their characters, their stories—not through the medals they collect.”
At a time when society often measures success through trophies and titles, Anish Kanjilal’s message at Adamas University offered a refreshing reminder: literature finds its true power not in recognition, but in connection—the quiet, intimate exchange
between writer and reader.
And it is that bond, he insisted, that endures long after awards gather dust.
