TNI Bureau: It is a matter of great joy and pride for the people of entire Odisha that, noted poet and writer from the State, Dr Gayatribala Panda has been conferred with the “Sahitya Akademi Award” for 2022.
Panda received the prestigious award during a special function held in New Delhi last evening. She has been conferred with the award for her poetry book ‘Dayanadi’.
The award carries a cash of Rs 1 lakh with citation.
The book ‘Dayanadi’ is based on the Kalinga War fought on Dhauli hills which is situated on the banks of Daya River. The Kalinga War was one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history.
In the literary field for three decades, 25 books of Dr. Panda including 12 collections of poem, 2 collections of short stories, 4 novels and 1 collection of essays have been published. She also edits ‘Anya’, a literary magazine.
Apart from this, four of her books have been translated into Hindi while one of her collections of poems has been translated into English.
She had won the Youth Award of the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi in 2011 besides being honoured with several other recognitions at the state and national level.
Dr Panda, who is also a journalist, had been a guest at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi as a writer in 2015.