Two Writers Receive Inaugural Dr. Parasuraman Lived Experience Writing Award in Madras

The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, The Banyan, and the Aaldamara Foundation have launched the Dr. Parasuraman Lived Experience Writing Award in Madras, honouring two writers who are mental healthcare service users.

Former Madras High Court judge and writer Justice Prabha Sridevan presented the inaugural awards to Sunitha Shirly and Sasisekar Menon during a ceremony announced in a press release.

The award was instituted in memory of the former director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), who championed transformative higher education to address deprivation and social inequity. According to the organisers, the initiative seeks to create space and provide support for literature written from personal experiences of mental distress and diverse perspectives of the mind.

Both awardees bring extensive personal and creative backgrounds to their work. Sunitha Shirly, a social entrepreneur, lyricist, musician, and author, is the founder of Root Trust. She has written more than 18 books spanning novels, short stories, poetry, essays, and children's science literature.

Sasisekar Menon, who works as a librarian, has lived with schizophrenia and Parkinson's. He was previously recognized as a Disability Awardee on Republic Day 2026.

Under the award initiative, both writers will receive the support of a dedicated mentor and an editor to assist them in drafting and completing their books, helping them share stories centered on distress, lived experience, and resilience.