An artist and a research scholar from Nadia will receive an award instituted to honour individuals who bridge the worlds of art and journalism.

Labani Jangi, who hails from Dhubulia in Nadia district, will receive the TM Krishna-PARI Award 2024.

The award is a collaboration between T.M. Krishna, Carnatic vocalist, author and activist, and the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), founded and edited by veteran journalist P. Sainath.

“T.M. Krishna and the People’s Archive of Rural India are proud to announce the recipient of the inaugural TM Krishna-PARI Award, instituted in 2024 to honour individuals who bridge the worlds of art and journalism. This prestigious annual award will celebrate contributions through writing or art, with a special focus on professionals from marginalized backgrounds. The award includes a cash prize of ₹1 Lakh,” the organisers said.

At 34, Labani Jangi is a research scholar at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, where she is pursuing a doctoral thesis titled — The lives and world of Bengali migrant labour.

Jangi was a fellow at PARI in 2020. She did a series of illustrations for the platform.

“A self-taught artist, her illustrations draw inspiration from her lived experiences and the socio-political realities around her. She sees her art as inherently political, shaped by her identity as a Muslim woman and the daily struggles faced in a world where systemic violence and hatred are increasingly normalised,” PARI said.

Labani said her illustrations were a medium to preserve and share rural India’s cultural and social realities.

“My work.... focuses on capturing stories that bring attention to both the systemic challenges, and the enduring spirit, of rural life.”