Aligarh: The Gangadhar National Award for poetry, instituted by Sambalpur University, has gone to A.M.K. Shahryar, a noted poet and formerly of the Urdu department in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

The Sambalpur University instituted the award in the memory of eminent Orissa poet Gangadhar Meher (1862-1924). It carries a cash prize of Rs.50,000, a shawl and a citation.

Shaharyar is the 18th recipient of the award, whose earlier winners include Ali Sardar Jafri, Kedar Nath Singh, Ayyapa Panikar, Shakti Chattopadhyay, K. Sachidanandan, Dillip Chitre, Jayant Mahapatra, Gulzar and Nawakant Barua.

Shaharyar has published six collections and his poems have been translated into English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and various Indian languages. IANS