BHUBANESWAR: Noted writer and linguist Khageswar Mohapatra passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84. He was undergoing treatment in a private hospital here for pneumonia. A native of Kosalpur in Jajpur district, Mohapatra was a gold medalist from Utkal University and did his PhD on Odia tribal language and culture from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan in 1970.
He had authored many books including 'Odia Bhasa O Lipi', 'Charya Geetika', 'Dakshinanchaliya Odia', 'Pratna Odia', 'Kabyika Bhasa', Descriptive Catalogue on Odia Manuscript and Palm Leaf Manuscript, Odia Language and Literature, Tribal Language and Culture and Desia: A Tribal Odia Dialect and Odia: Linguistic Landscape and Literary Efflorescence.
Mohapatra was director of Odisha Tribal Museum and a faculty member of Odia Department of Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. He was founder of Odia Department of Delhi University.
He was also honoured with many awards for his contribution to the field of literature. Mohapatra was recipient of Odisha Sahitya Academy Award, which he received for his book 'Samalochanara Diga O Diganta' in 1985.