BHUBANESWAR: THE Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award will be conferred upon renowned author Dasarathi Das this year. This was announced by Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Cuttack-based author has been selected for the prestigious award for his book of literary criticism, ‘Prasanga Puruna Bhabana Nua’ that he wrote in 2015. The book is based on eight literary essays based on writings of popular Odia authors including Bhima Bhoi, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gopinath Mohanty and Radhamohan Gadnayak. The book was selected by a jury of three writers - Adikanda Sahoo, Manoranjan Pradhan and Pramod Kumar Mohanty.
The Kendriya Sahitya Akademi also announced Bhasa Samman. Well-known English and Odia language author, Gaganendra Nath Das has been chosen for 2018 for his contribution to the field of classical and medieval literature. He had a seminal role in preparing a classified and comprehensive bibliography, entitled Orissa. Similarly, the Akademi has decided to honour both Haladhar Nag and Prafulla Tripathy with Koshali Sambalpuri Bhasa Samman for their contribution towards Koshali-Sambalpuri languages. The selections have been approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi. The awards containing engraved plaques, shawl and cheque of Rs1 lakh will be presented at a special function to be held on January 29 at New Delhi during the Festival of Letters organised by the Akademi.