The Kendriya Sahitya Akademi has been approached to conduct memorial lectures on Odisha’s first Jnanpith Award winner Gopinath Mohanty at Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, president of the Gopinath Mohanty Foundation Trust Omkarnath Mohanty said here on Sunday.
He was addressing the birth centenary celebration and 23rd memorial lecture of the eminent Odia novelist Gopinath Mohanty. The memorial lecture on the literary exponent was started in 1992 and has acted as a bridge to link Odia literature with the rest of India, added Omkarnath.
Chief guest and Secretary, Department of Culture and Tourism, Arabinda Padhee said the works of Gopinath Mohanty has focused on indigenous tribes of Odisha and their way of life who constitute nearly one-fourth of the State’s population.
Padhee also acknowledged the proposal of Omkarnath and assured the commitment of his Department to pursue the Akademi to promote the legacy of Mohanty.
Civil servant-cum-novelist Upamanyu Chatterjee delivered the memorial lecture at the event and expressed his reverence for Gopinath Mohanty.
The function was presided by the president of Odisha Sahitya Akademi Satkodi Hota and its vice-president Giri Dandasena gave the vote of thanks to the gathering.
Noted fiction writer Pratibha Ray, secretary of ‘Gopianth Mohanty Foundation Trust’ Amrutanath Mohanty and secretary of Odisha Sahitya Akademi Bijay Kumar Nayak were among other dignitaries present at the event.
