Eminent Odia fiction writer and Kendra Sahitya Akademi awardee Dr Gourahari Das has been selected to get the 43rd edition of the prestigious Sarala Puraskar this year.
He will receive the award for his short-story collection “Bagha O Anyanya Galpa”, published by Timepass Publication in 2018. He will receive a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation at the award-giving ceremony, the Trust said in a Press release.
Sarala Puraskar is awarded by IMPaCT, a charitable wing of the Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd. (IMFA) in recognition of excellence in Odia literature.
Apart from this, London-based eminent painter and writer Prafulla Mohanty and Odissi music Guru Ghanshyam Panda will be honoured with ‘Ila-Bansidhar Panda Kala Samman’ for their valuable contribution in the field of art and music, respectively. Both will receive a cash award of Rs1.5 Lakh each and citations.
The annual Sarala Puraskar was instituted by eminent Odia industrialist Dr Bansidhar Panda and his wife Ila Panda in 1980. The Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT ) has since been continuously awarding eminent personalities for excellence in Odia literature.
The award-giving ceremony will be held in Bhubaneswar on October 26, 2022.
Congratulating Das, BJP National Vice President, Baijayant Panda tweeted, "I extend my heartfelt wishes to Sahitya Akademi awardee, eminent short story writer, novelist and columnist Gourahari Das for getting selected to receive the prestigious Sarala Puraskar this year."