Anupama Ravindra Menon Wins Banabhatta Saahityik Puraskaar 2023
Hindustan Bytes Media 
Banabhatta Saahityik Puraskaar 2023 by Cherry Book Awards is a literary award that recognizes and felicitates contemporary writers for their outstanding contribution to Literature. The award aims to promote and celebrate the diversity of literature by honoring the works of emerging and established writers across different genres and languages. One of the most deserving winners of Banabhatta Saahityik Puraskaar 2023 is Anupama Ravindra Menon.
About Anupama Ravindra Menon
Born and brought up in the humble suburbs of old Seremban town, Anupama Ravindran Menon, @Anu, is your simple girl next door. Upon completing graduation from her alma mater, Manipal University under the Malaysian Defense Ministry Scholarship, she started training as an intern shortly afterwards & began serving as a doctor in the Malaysian Armed Forces. Setting foot as a medical officer in the military was an experience of its own. She begun her career as a junior doctor in training centre situated down south of Peninsular Malaysia. Having medicine as her ultimate field of passion & to answer her call of duty, she was given the opportunity to serve under the United Nation’s (UN) flagship in a peacekeeping operation in Lebanon in 2019-2020 (UNIFIL). She was a part of an entourage of the Malaysian Battalion 850-7 who actively serve in this region over decades. Apart from being a United Nations ambassador & a doctor in field, she was also the Gender Focal Point representative of the nation & become an active part of the COVID-19 crisis team under the tutelage of UNIFIL Medical HQ & WHO. She represented Malaysia in a few international virtual symposiums to present regarding the adversities & challenges of COVID-19 in operational areas, namely by Vietnamese Defence & UNDPKO & CUNPKO of India. To honour the contributions, she was awarded with the United Nations Peace Keeping Medal and other honorary certificates.
As much as Anu is a passionate doctor blooming in her field, she awes art in its every form, be it music, dance, writing, painting or creative work. Her writing gears kickstarted quite early in life. After obtaining a Distinction award in the University of New South Wales English Assessment at the age of 13, she began exploring into the writing part of herself. She was apart of multiple national essay writing competitions and privileged to be shortlisted for the Prestigious Dublin Literature Writing competition in 2004. After winning her first prize in the International Notion Press Short Stories competition 2017, she was published as a joint author alongside 19 other writers in Plotpourri, an anthology of short stories. As an upcoming painter, she had also successfully done her first solo painting exhibition entitled Hridhaya:Language of Heartbeats in 2018. She published her first solo venture of a novel entitled “Dear Manusha” in 2019 under the publication house of Notion Press.
Anu is an awardee for the Nari Samman Sheroes Award 2023 by The Inspiring Women Community (TWIC) She is also currently a nominee for NE8x ® Litfest 2023 Award & Author of the Year 2023 award. She also won first runner up in the recent 7th Indie Author’s Championship 2023 by NotionPress publications.
Achievements & Books
- Awarded the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal & Honorary certificate for contributions as UN ambassador & medical officer in 2020.
- Awarded Honorary certificate for being apart of the UNIFIL COVID-19 Crisis team in 2020
- Awarded Honorary certificates for being the speaker representing Malaysia in the International Virtual Symposium of Adversities & Strategies of Handling COVID-19 in area of operation organised by Vietnamese Defence Ministry & UNDPKO & CUNPKO India.
- First prize in Notion Press International Short Stories writing Competition 2018.
- Published as joint author along with 19 other authors in Plotpourri, an anthology of short stories by Notion Press in 2018.
- Published the first solo venture of a novel entitled “Dear Manusha” by Notion Press at the end of 2019.
- Successfully completed first Solo Art Exhibition entitled “Hridhaya : The Language of Heartbeats” in 2019
- First runner up in the 7th Indie’s Author Championship by Notion Press in 2023
- Awardee for Nari Samman Sheroes Award by The Inspiring Women Community 2023
- Nominee of Litfest 2023 & Author of the Year 2023 by Ne8x Litfest
- Nominee for Nari Parthiba Samman Award 2023 by Sheforward Official
About Banabhatta
Banabhatta was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. He is best known for his literary work, the Kadambari, a romantic novel that tells the story of the love between the prince Chandrapeeda and the princess Kadambari. Banabhatta was a prolific writer and also authored several other works, including the Harshacharita, a biography of the Emperor Harsha, and the Parvatiparinaya, a poem that describes the marriage of the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati. Banabhatta's contributions to Sanskrit literature are highly regarded and have had a lasting impact on Indian culture.
