Noted fictionist Bhima Prusty to receive 44th ‘Sarala Puraskar’ 

Noted fictionist Bhima Prusty will receive the prestigious ‘Sarala Puraskar’, which is given annually by IMPaCT, the charitable wing of the Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd. (IMFA).
 
He will receive the award for his novel ‘Jambuloka’ published by Paschima Publications in 2017.

On October 26, the writer will be presented with a plaque and a sum of Rs 5,00,000.  Along with Bhima Prusty’s ‘Jambuloka’, the other books that made it to the final round of selection were Bijay Kumar Satpathy’s ‘Nastanidara Upakatha’, Aparna Mohanty’s ‘Agni Kamalini’, Amaresh Patnaik’s ‘Chahan Ba Nachahan’, Sarojini Sahoo’s ‘Dadan’, Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi’s ‘Kanina’ and Pradeep Kumar Panda’s ‘Jaha Mun Chahun Nathibi’. 

While the preliminary round judges for the selection of books were Sitesh Tripathi, Dr. Sucheta Mishra, Dr. Parameswar Mund, Baijayanti Mishra and Dr. Prithidhara Samal, the judges for the final round were Prof. Biswaranjan, Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee, Dr. Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Dr. Yashodhara Mishra, Ranjan Kumar Das, Chirasree Indrasingh and Aditeswar Mishra.

Apart from the Sarala Puraskar, the ‘Ila-Bansidhar Panda Kala Samman’, given every year by IMPaCT for lifetime excellence in the field of art, has also been announced for the year 2023. Guru Benudhar Mohapatra, a unique pattachitra artist and famous flute player Guru Mohini Mohan Patnaik will receive the award this year.  They will be felicitated with a certificate, a plaque, and a purse of Rs 2,00,000 each.  

While Aruna Mohanty, Ratikant Mohapatra, Mitali Chinara were the judges in the music section, Panchami Manu Ukil, Biyot Projna Tripathy, and Ramakanta Samantaray were the judges in the art category.

The Sarala Puraskar, instituted by eminent Odia industrialist, Dr Bansidhar Panda and his wife Ila Panda in 1980, has been continuously awarded by the Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT). 

The award ceremony will be held in Bhubaneswar on 26th October 2023.