CUTTACK : The Kalinga Ratna Award was bestowed upon eminent novelist Pratibha Ray and fiction writer Santanu Acharya was awarded the Sarala Samman for the year 2014.
The awards instituted by Sarala Sahitya Sansad were presented to the writers by poet Prof Kedarnath Singh during the Sansad’s 33rd annual function held at Sarala Bhawan here on Monday evening.
The Sarala Samman carried a cash prize of `50,000 and a copper plaque and the Kalinga Ratna award a silver statue of Goddess Saraswati and a copper plaque.
Prof Singh described Sarala Das as an extraordinary genius in the field of literature in the world. The epic ‘Sarala Mahabharat’ written by Sarala Das is the first complete Mahabharat in regional language.
Former Chief Justice of India Gopal Ballav Pattanaik, Prof Prafulla Mohanty, Sahadeva Sahoo and Sansad president Pravakar Swain were present.