India, April 2 -- Days after Jalgaon-based artist-turned-author Raju Baviskar won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his Marathi autobiography, Kalya Nilya Resha, the tome is drawing renewed attention for its stark portrayal of marginalised lives and for Baviskar's crossover from visual art to literature.

The book, which traces Baviskar's journey from hardship to self-expression, is being discussed in literary and academic circles for its restrained yet powerful articulation of identity, exclusion and dignity. Readers and critics alike have pointed to how the narrative goes beyond being a personal story to reflecting a larger social reality.

An art teacher from Jalgaon district, Baviskar was earlier known for his paintings characterised by b...