Bhubaneswar: State’s highest literary award, Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman for the year 2017 was conferred on revolutionary poet Rabi Singh at a special function organised by the Orissa Sahitya Akademi at Rabindra Mandap here Sunday.
Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda presented the award to Singh. The award carries `1 lakh and a plaque. Singh had received the Orissa Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961.
Singh is well-known for his poetry collections Patha Prantara Kabita, Charama Patra, Sithila Balga, Lal Pagoda Ra Preta o Anya Kabita, Bhrukuti, Bidirna, Padatika, Apritikara Kabita, Jawalara Mala, Kshata, Bishabani, Durgama Giri, Jhada, Sarbahara, Banya and Anaryara Charyapada.
Apart from Singh, 15 other litterateurs received awards for their contributions to Oriya language. The literary luminaries include Sanatan Mohanty, Rajat Kumar Kar, Bhupen Mohapatra, Nabakishore Prusty, Ramchandra Mohanto, Surendra Kumar Moharana, Trinath Sahu, Laxmidhar Jena, Banshidhar Rout, Panchanan Mishra, Anjali Panda, Nakula Chandra Sahu, Anil Chandra Das, Kumuda Chandra Das and Gobardhan Nayak. They received `25,000 each along with a plaque and a citation.
Commissioner-cum-secretary of Culture Department Manoranjan Panigrahi, Orissa Sahitya Akademi president Harihara Mishra, vice-president Gayatri Saraf and secretary Aswini Kumar Mishra were present on the occasion.
PNN
