TNI Bureau: Noted litterateur Dr Gayatribala Panda was conferred with the ‘Alumni of the year’ award on Sunday. She was conferred the ‘Alumni of the year’ award for the year 2023 by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication Alumni Association (IIMCAA).
IIMC Director-General Prof Sanjay Dwivedi handed over the award to Dr Gayatribala Panda.
Likewise, Harikishan Sharma and Andrew Amsan from The Indian Express got the 7th IFFCO IIMCAA awards while Sushil Singh, Amit Katoch, Pee Lee Ete and Pankaj Chandra Goswami received the ‘Public Service Award.’
It is to be noted here that Gayatribala Panda won the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award in Poetry category in 2022 for her poetry collection ‘Dayanadi.’ Earlier, she had won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi youth award in 2011 for her poetry collection ‘Gan’ (village).
After receiving the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi last year, she became the first Odia poet to get Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award twice.
Born in 1977 to Arunima and Golak Bihari Panda in Sadeipur of Jagatsinghpur district, Gayatri Panda is wife of Rajya Sabha MP Manas Mangaraj.
Gayatribala Panda, who was born in 1977 in Sadeipur of Jagatsinghpur district, has so far published 28 books in a career spanning over 3 decades.
She also has won several awards like State Youth Award for Poetry in 2000, Haji Asraf Ali Udaya Prativa Samman for poetry From Fakir Mohan Sahitya Parishad in 2004, Basanta Muduli Kavita Samman in 2006, Lekhalekhi Yuva Kavi Samman in 2007.
Below are a list of some other awards which Gayatri Panda has won:
• 2010 Sarala Kabya Samman
• 2010 Manthan Award for Poetry
• 2011 Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhabana Award
• 2011 Utkal Sahitya Samaj Yuva Kabi samman
• 2012 Talapadeswari sahitya samman
• 2012 Timepass Swayamshree Samman
• 2014 Istahara kabita samman
• 2015 Deepak Mishra kabya samman
• 2016 Award from State Vigilance, Govt. of Odisha for best essay written on Corruption