Medium Level – GK Questions

Olga Tokarczuk, known for 'Flights' and 'The Books of Jacob', won the 2018 prize (awarded in 2019 after the Swedish Academy scandal).

Austrian author Peter Handke won the 2019 Nobel (delayed from 2018). The award sparked debate due to his controversial political stances regarding the Yugoslav Wars.

Louise Glück, known for her deeply personal and often mythic poetry collections like 'The Wild Iris' and 'Averno', received the Nobel Prize in 2020.

Georgi Gospodinov is a prominent Bulgarian writer. 'Time Shelter' is the first Bulgarian novel to win the International Booker Prize.

Nilmani Phookan won the 2021 Jnanpith. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (1979) and Indira Goswami (2000) were the previous Assamese winners.

Damodar Mauzo, a renowned Goan short story writer, novelist, and critic, became the first Konkani writer to win the Jnanpith Award in 2022 (announced in 2023).

Paul Lynch's 'Prophet Song' depicts a terrifying, near-future Ireland sliding into totalitarianism, praised by the judges for its visceral and relentless narrative.

Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse won the 2023 Nobel Prize. His minimalist, repetitive style is often compared to the slow, rhythmic movement of waves.

The Popol Vuh preserves the mythology and history of the K'iche' Maya people of the Guatemalan Highlands, including the adventures of the Hero Twins.

Compiled in the 13th-century Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius, the Poetic Edda preserves ancient pagan myths and heroic legends of the Norse people.

Written in Middle High German around 1200, the Nibelungenlied blends historical events (the fall of the Burgundians) with Germanic mythology, featuring heroes like Siegfried and Kriemhild.

'Beowulf' is the foundational text of English literature, composed between the 8th and 11th centuries in the Anglo-Saxon vernacular.

The Enuma Elish is the Babylonian epic of creation, detailing the rise of the god Marduk and his victory over the primordial chaos monster Tiamat.

Madhavdev's 'Namaghoṣa' (The Proclamation of the Name) is a masterpiece of devotional literature, emphasizing the chanting of God's name as the path to salvation.

Sankardev composed 'Borgeet' (Great Songs) in Brajavali, a literary language he developed. These songs remain central to the Sattriya culture and Assamese devotion.

Narsi Mehta, a 15th-century mystic and devotee of Krishna, is considered the first major poet of Gujarati literature. His bhajans, including 'Vaishnava Jana To', are world-renowned.

Basavanna deliberately composed his 'Vachanas' in simple, everyday Kannada so that his message of social equality and devotion could reach the common masses, bypassing the Brahminical monopoly on Sanskrit.

The Vachana movement, spearheaded by Basavanna and Allama Prabhu, rejected caste and ritualism. Akkamahadevi's passionate Vachanas are dedicated to her divine lover, Chennamallikarjuna (Shiva).

Sarala Das wrote the 'Sarala Mahabharata', adapting the Sanskrit epic into Odia but infusing it with local folklore, Odia culture, and regional deities.

Lal Ded's 'Vakhs' (four-line stanzas) are foundational to Kashmiri literature and language, blending Shaivite philosophy with Sufi mysticism.