BHUBANESWAR: Noted Odia poet, essayist and fomer scientist at CSIR-IMMT Ashutosh Parida has been selected for the prestigious Sarala Puraskar for his poetry collection ‘Bishwas De Pruthwi’.
The award, given annually by the Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT) for the best literary achievement, will be presented to Parida at a function here on October 25. Parida will be presented with a citation, copper plaque and a cash prize of `7 lakh.
Besides, the Ila-Bansidhar Panda Kala Samman, given every year for lifetime excellence in the field of art, was also announced for 2026. Odissi maestro Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, and sculptor and art educator Damodar Behera will be conferred the samman. They will receive a citation, copper plaque and `2.5 lakh cash prize.
This year, seven books including Parida’s had made it to the final round of selection. The other books included, ‘Aparna Mohanty ka Payeen Kabita’ by Aparna Mohanty, ‘Dahana Pada Bama Pada’ by Padmaja Pal, ‘Sita’ by Archana Nayak, ‘Mayabarta’ by Bijay Nayak, ‘Mokhya Mudra’ by Prakash Mahapatra and ‘Kabi Ka Naam Bedbyash’ by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi.
The book shortlisting committee comprised Indira Dash, Pratiksha Jena, Amiya Bej, Pradip Kumar Panda and Abhay Nayak while the jury comprised Sucheta Mishra, Hrushikesh Mallick, Sangram Jena, Swapna Mishra, Natabar Satapathy, Sarojini Sahoo and Ajay Kumar Mohapatra.
The jury for selection of Ila-Bansidhar Panda Kala Samman included Guru Puspita Mishra, Nazia Alam, Suramani Abhiram Nanda for the performing arts section, and Panchami Manoo Ukil, Sangita Patnaik and Veejayant Kumar Dash for the visual arts section.
