Jaipur DC bags Sahitya Akademi Award for collection of Rajasthani short stories

Jaipur: Jaipur district collector Jitendra Kumar Soni has been chosen to receive the 2025 Sahitya Akademi Award in the Rajasthani language category for his acclaimed short story collection – Bharkhama.The book is a compilation of stories depicting human relationships, life struggles and cultural values of rural Rajasthan. It is also the basis of the S Sagar-directed 2024 Rajasthani feature film bearing the same name. Soni received the best writer award for this film at the 2025 Rajasthan Film Festival.The Rajasthani term Bharkhama refers to a tolerant or patient lady.The Sahitya Akademi award is the nation's highest literary honour, bestowed annually by the National Academy of Letters on works in 24 Indian languages. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a commemorative plaque.Born in 1981 in Dhannasar village of Hanumangarh district, Soni is a 2021-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. He completed his MA in philosophy, political science and public policy and holds a PhD in political science. He has also completed his BSc in biology, together with a Bachelor's degree in education.In addition to writing short stories, poetry and diaries in both Rajasthani and Hindi, Soni is credited with several contributions in the fields of translation and editing. He has published more than 15 books so far.