Who among the following was awarded The Hindu Prize in Fiction category for the year 2018?

The correct answer is A, Neelum Saran Gour. She won The Hindu Prize 2018 for fiction for her novel "Requiem in Raga Janki".

The novel retells the life of Janki Bai of Allahabad, a celebrated singer of the early twentieth century known as "Chhappan Chhuri" because of the scars from a knife attack, and follows her rise as a recording star of thumri and ghazal. Neelum Saran Gour is an Allahabad-based writer who taught English at the University of Allahabad; the same novel later won her the Sahitya Akademi Award in English in 2021. The Hindu Prize, given by The Hindu newspaper's Lit for Life festival, has honoured Indian fiction in English since 2010.

B is wrong because N Kalyan Raman is known mainly as a translator of Tamil fiction into English. C is wrong because Manoranjan Byapari is a Bengali writer known for his memoir of a Dalit life and was not the 2018 winner. D is wrong because Arunava Sinha is a translator of Bengali literature into English, not the 2018 fiction winner.

Exam tip: The Hindu Prize 2018 (fiction) = Neelum Saran Gour, "Requiem in Raga Janki", on the singer Janki Bai of Allahabad.