SHILLONG, June 25: Shillong-based author Salil Gewali has been conferred the ‘Global Wisdom Excellence Award’ by the Virginia-based organisation, Reform Education for a New World, on the occasion of International Yoga Day.
The award recognises Gewali’s contribution to Indian heritage through his acclaimed book, Great Minds on India. The work, which features a foreword by a NASA chief scientist, has been translated into 16 languages. The German edition was formally released in 2022 by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
For the past eight years, Reform Education for a New World has been distributing Gewali’s books across the United States, including at NRI-run weekend schools for students.
Dr Usha Chaudhary, president of the organisation and former Senior Vice President of The Washington Post, stated that the book vividly presents the timeless wisdom of India by connecting global thought with Indian philosophy, science, and spirituality.
The organisation’s chairman, Dr. Dhananjaya Kumar, a former Senior Industrial Economist at the World Bank, noted that the book encourages readers to value deeper truths beyond material pursuits. “I have personally gifted this book to hundreds of students and teachers in both India and the USA,” he said.In a further development, a Sanskrit edition of the book has been translated in the U.S. by Usha Jaya Raman and Dr Annapurna Nori, under the guidance of eminent Sanskrit scholar Dr. Baldevananda Sagar. Dr Sagar is known for pioneering Sanskrit news broadcasting on All India Radio and translating the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat. The Sanskrit edition will be published by Samskrita Bharati in Ontario, Canada.
While invited to Virginia to receive the honour in person, Gewali was unable to attend due to personal reasons.
