“Without them there would be no Edible Schoolyard, no Jhumpa Lahiri novels, no really scary things like Carrie and Misery,” said Obama amid laughter. Obama then proceeded to present the medals to each of the recipients as their citations were read by his military aide. “The 2014 National Humanities Medal to Jhumpa Lahiri for enlarging the human story. In her works of fiction, Dr. Lahiri has illuminated the Indian American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging,” read the aide as Lahiri received the award amid applause.

The humanities medal honours an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources. Lahiri’s novel “The Lowland” was among the books Obama took with him while vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, an island summer resort in Massachusetts, last month. “The Lowland” is a story about two brothers who grew up in Calcutta in the 1960s. After one is killed, the other marries his pregnant widow and moves to the US. The New York Times calls the premise of this novel “startlingly operatic”.

Other awardees included artists, historians, writers, a philosopher, scholar, preservationist, food activist and an education course.