Mangaluru: Dinakar Ullal, a member of the Rani Abbakka Utsav committee said that writer Indira Hegde and theatre artiste Winny Fernandes will be given the Rani Abbakka Award and Rani Abbakka Puraskara, respectively, on January 25, as a part of the two-day Rani Abbakka Utsav to be held in Thumbe. The awards carry a purse of Rs. 20,000 .  They will be given away by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a function on January 25.

Indira Hegde, a resident of Kinnigoli, has written novels ‘Amayaki’, ‘Odaluguri’ and ‘Mantana’. She also has brought out collections of short stories and poems. She, along with her husband S.R. Hegde, an ex-serviceman who died a few weeks ago, wrote ‘Guttina Sainka Jagattige’ on the life of a soldier.

Winny Fernandes, a resident of Kulshekar, started her acting career at the age of 15 with the role of a child artiste in the film ‘Akhanda Brahmachari Galu’. She was part of the ‘Tulunadu Nataka Mandali’ for two years. She has acted in award winning films such as Nayi Neralu and Gulabi Talkies and in Tulu films such as Kadala Mage, Telikeda Bolli, Rickshaw Driver and Madime.