Staged Whisper
Once India’s premier literary award, the Crossword prize looked as if it had lost the plot somewhat. Award ceremonies are bad enough because of authors competing like race horses, but to add to the humiliation, this time all the shortlisted contenders who had turned up for the translation prize were called up on the stage before the announcement. Imagine the discomfiture of those who didn’t win, up there, when the winners were announced: Malayalam Sahitya Akademi prizewinner Sarah Joseph’s novel about a nun, Othappu, translated by Valson Thampu, better known as principal of St Stephen’s College. Cruel!