Neelesh Misra's 'Main Aksar Sochta Hoon' Wins Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman for Hindi Bestseller 2025
May 29, 2026, 22:06 IST
Neelesh Misra received the prestigious Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman for his remarkable poetry collection, 'Main Aksar Sochta Hoon'. This accolade, recognizing the Hindi Bestseller of 2025 in poetry, was presented during the celebration of Dainik Jagran's 200th anniversary.
Neelesh Misra's Main Aksar Sochta Hoon awarded as Best of Bestsellers 2025
29 May 2026 — New Delhi
On the evening of 28th May 2026, Neelesh Misra was awarded the Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman — Hindi Bestseller 2025, in the category of Uttam Mein Sarvottam: Kavita (Best in Best: Poetry) — at a ceremony held at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The award was presented on the occasion of Dainik Jagran's 200th anniversary celebrations, marking two centuries of Hindi journalism in India.
The award recognises Main Aksar Sochta Hoon — Neelesh Misra's first poetry compilation, published by Slow Imprint in collaboration with Gaon Connection and Ekada — as one of Hindi literature's best-selling works of 2025. The book, quietly personal and deeply felt, marks a new dimension of a creative life that has always lived inside language.
![Dainik Jagran's award ceremony at the IIC]()
![Main Aksar Sochta Hoon by Neelesh Misra]()
For those who know Neelesh Misra primarily as a storyteller or a Bollywood lyricist, this recognition is a reminder of how wide his written world actually is. He is the author of two landmark non-fiction books — 173 Hours in Captivity, the first comprehensive account of the hijacking of IC 814, and End of the Line, the story of the killing of the Nepalese royal family. He has also authored the beloved Yaad Sheher series — books that grew out of Yaadon Ka Idiot Box and brought Hindi audio storytelling into print for the first time.
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon is something different from all of these. It is not journalism. It is not fiction. It is the interior life of a man who has spent three decades listening to India — its grief, its joy, its quiet — and finally turned that listening inward. The poems carry the same unhurried honesty that has defined everything he has made. They do not perform. They simply arrive, the way his best work always does.
The Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman, awarded on the 200th anniversary of one of India's most widely read Hindi newspapers, is a recognition not just of one book but of a lifetime's commitment to the Hindi language — spoken, written, sung and told.
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon is published by Slow Imprint in collaboration with Gaon Connection and Ekada, and is available now.
On the evening of 28th May 2026, Neelesh Misra was awarded the Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman — Hindi Bestseller 2025, in the category of Uttam Mein Sarvottam: Kavita (Best in Best: Poetry) — at a ceremony held at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The award was presented on the occasion of Dainik Jagran's 200th anniversary celebrations, marking two centuries of Hindi journalism in India.
The award recognises Main Aksar Sochta Hoon — Neelesh Misra's first poetry compilation, published by Slow Imprint in collaboration with Gaon Connection and Ekada — as one of Hindi literature's best-selling works of 2025. The book, quietly personal and deeply felt, marks a new dimension of a creative life that has always lived inside language.
Dainik Jagran's award ceremony at the IIC
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon by Neelesh Misra
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon is something different from all of these. It is not journalism. It is not fiction. It is the interior life of a man who has spent three decades listening to India — its grief, its joy, its quiet — and finally turned that listening inward. The poems carry the same unhurried honesty that has defined everything he has made. They do not perform. They simply arrive, the way his best work always does.
The Dainik Jagran Kriti Samman, awarded on the 200th anniversary of one of India's most widely read Hindi newspapers, is a recognition not just of one book but of a lifetime's commitment to the Hindi language — spoken, written, sung and told.
Main Aksar Sochta Hoon is published by Slow Imprint in collaboration with Gaon Connection and Ekada, and is available now.