The Maharashtra Government has announced the recipients of the prestigious Mahakavi Kalidas Sanskrit Sadhana Awards for the years 2021 to 2025, recognising 34 scholars for their outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of Sanskrit. Instituted by the State Government, the awards honour distinguished Sanskrit scholars across various categories. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a shawl, Shrifal and a certificate. Among the prominent awardees are several scholars from Nagpur. Prof Kavita Holey, Dean of the Faculty of Sanskrit and Other Languages at Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, has been selected for the award in the Sanskrit Professor category for 2024. Former Vice-Chancellor of the university and noted scholar of Nyaya philosophy, Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi, currently Vice-Chancellor of Central Sanskrit University, has been chosen in the category of Sanskrit Scholars from Other States for 2024.

 

Other awardees from Nagpur include Dr Smita Hote, Dr Shuchita Dalal and Dr Rijuta Godbole-Pandey in the Sanskrit Professors and Allied Subjects category; Dr Chandragupta Varanekar and Meena Page in the Sanskrit Activists category; and Shweta Pawanikar in the Sanskrit Teachers category. The selection process was carried out in accordance with prescribed government regulations. The award selection committee was chaired by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, while the scrutiny committee was headed by Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Dr Atul Vaidya. The awards recognise decades of scholarly work, teaching, research and service dedicated to the enrichment and propagation of Sanskrit in Maharashtra and across the country.