The ‘Satadalare Yagnaseni,’ a literary event with a difference organised by publication house, Adya Prakashanee, marked the release of the 100th edition of eminent writer Pratibha Ray’s epic novel, Yagnaseni (Odia).
Chief guest Dr Sitakant Mahapatra released the 100th edition of the book. The occasion also marked the release of the Pratibha Ray Foundation Trust, formed by Pratibha’s family members with the goal of preservation and propagation of Pratibha’s and Odia literature.
Dr Pradip Bhattacharya, guest of honour, released the Hindi translation of Ray’s ‘Magnamati’, published by the publication house, Rajpal and Sons, New Delhi. Meera Johri released yet another book of Pratibha Ray, ‘College Gapa.’
Chief speaker Basant Panda elaborated on the significance of Jagyaseni, while Debi Prasanna Patnaik highlighted the importance of the book.
The writer, in her speech, said she sat on the ground and wrote with blood. She spoke about her tryst with Jagyaseni and how the readers and her fans had been instrumental in making her a household name through their appreciation for the novel.
The writer was felicitated with a standing ovation by the audience as she was felicitated by her loyal fans from all corners. President, Odisha Society of Americas Lalatendu Mohanty, president, Canosa Sunanda Panda , Dhirendra Kar from Raleigh, US were also present on the occasion. The welcome address was delivered by Dr Adyasha Das while the vote of thanks was given by ADG, Odisha Police Lalit Das.
Twenty translators of Pratibha’s works representing different Indian languages, publishers as well as distributors were felicitated.
The second session was a cultural programme.
Those who got the Prativa Sammana included Dr Sankarlal Purohit, Hindi, Dr Pradeep Bhattacharya, English, Kavita Dutta Goswami, Assamese, Prof Jayashree Mohanraj, Telugu, Prof Bhagirathi Nanda, Sanskrit, Bharati Nandi, Bengali, Bindya Suba, Nepali, Dr Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Hindi, Radha Joglekar, Marathi, Dr VS nJoglekar, Marathi, Prof Bikram Das, English, Dr Prafulla Kumar Mohanty, English, Monalisa Jena, English, Abdul Matin Jami, Urdu, Dr Annie Ray, Hindi, while those who were felicitated with Prakashan Pratibha Sammana included Meera Johari, Rajpal and Sons, Delhi, Kapish Mehra, Rupa and Co. Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, Soumyaranjan Sahu, Nalanda Prakashani.
Besides, Kala Pratibha Samman was presented to eminent artists Ashok Mohanty and Soman Patnaik and Pustak Prasar Pratibha Samman to Arun Kumar Mishra, Soumyakanta Khandai, Satya Narayan Choudhury and Akshaya Kumar Nayak.
