BHUBANESWAR: Eminent Odia poet and writer Rajendra Kishore Panda passed away on Friday at the age of 81.
Born on June 29, 1944, in Jharsuguda district, Panda served as an IAS officer from July 14, 1967, to June 30, 2004. Prior to joining the civil services, he released his first poetry collection ‘Gouna Devata’ and from thereon went on to publish 16 poetry anthologies. He was also the editor of two web anthologies of poetry ‘Kavitayan’ and ‘Varnamala’.
Panda was the recipient of the Central Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry collection ‘Saila Kalpa’ in 1985. He was also awarded the Gangadhar National Award in 2010 and Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar in 2020.
Litterateurs and people from different walks of life expressed their condolences. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Odisha has lost a shining star of its literary world and his contribution to literature was everlasting.
State Culture minister Suryabanshi Suraj also expressed grief. “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing of poet Rajendra Kishore Panda. May the Lord grant immense strength to his family and provide eternal peace to his immortal soul,” he wrote on X.