Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday presented the prestigious Kalinga Ratna Samman to Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan at a function here on the occasions of 600th birth anniversary of Adikabi Sarala Das and 40th annual day of the Sarala Sahitya Samsad.
Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present at the function held at the Sarala Bhawan. Awarded by Sarala Sahitya Samsad, the Kalinga
Ratna Samman this year carries a silver idol of Goddess Saraswati, a copper plaque and a shawl. Vice-President Naidu said Governor Harichandan deserved this award for his notable contributions in social, cultural, political and literary fields. Highlighting the works of Adikabi Sarala Das, he said he was truly the father of modern Odia language. “Simple and lucid language were the hallmark of this 15th-century great poet and the Adikabi’s Mahabharata is widely read in Odisha.
Not only Sarala Das, most of his contemporary poets including Balaram Das and others are still popular in Odia literature because of their research and language,” Naidu said.
Earlier, Naidu had arrived in Bhubaneswar on a two-day visit to the State and was received by Governor Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
After attending the Cuttack event, he returned to the State capital to spend the night at the Raj Bhavan.
On Saturday, Naidu will attend the 50th convocation of Utkal University as chief guest before leaving for New Delhi at 5 pm.