Eminent Odia poet Sitakant Mahapatra was conferred the coveted Fellowship of the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi for literature at a function held here on Saturday.
Mahapatra is one of the best-known names in Indian literature today. People of Odisha appear in his poetry as a compassionate, simple and innocent community. Akademi President Dr Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari conferred the Fellowship on Mahapatra. The Akademi has so far presented only 21 Fellowships, said its Secretary K Sreenivasa Rao.
Mahapatra said, “I am happy that it (the Fellowship) has come to my language, which has a very rich ancestry. My language’s classical status which had never been in doubt was recognised rather late in the day. I dedicate this Fellowship to my twin Kavya Gurus, the Odia Bhagabatkar Jagannath Das, who combined intense philosophical truths with rare lyricism, and Bhima Bhoi, the tribal poet in whom anger against the inequities of the world and the search for personal redemption were fused with rare competence.”
Mahapatra’s book Rotations of Unending Time translated by Sura P Rath and Mark Halperin and the compilation of Mohapatra’s anthology Sitakant Rachana Samagra edited by Dr Sanghamitra Mishra and Dr Ranjita Nayak were also released on the occasion.
Regional representative of the Akademi’s Advisory Council for Odia literature Gourhari Das, noted critic Dr Prafulla Mohanty and noted writers Dr Aparna Mohanty and Dr Basant Kumar Panda also addressed the gathering.