Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award to Odias
Two Oriya (odia) writers have been selected for the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award in Bal Sahitya and Yuva Sahitya categories for this year. The names of Nadia Bihari Mohanty and Khetrabasi Nayak of Cuttack were announced on Friday.
Mohanty, who is remembered for Sisu Sansar radio show on All India Radio, will receive Bal Sahitya Puraskar while Nayak will be honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for his short story collection Dadan published in 2011.
Mohanty, 82, will be honoured for his lifetime contribution to children’s literature. He is fondly addressed as ‘bada bhai’ by children in Sisu Sansar. He has also written over 30 children’s books.
Expressing happiness, Mohanty said, “The award is a surprise for me as I was not expecting it at all at this juncture of my life. I am extremely happy that the jury has recognised my works.”
At the same time, Mohanty expressed concern over decreasing number of writers in children’s literature.
“It is a matter of concern that writers are not interested to write children’s literature. Instead children are being blamed for losing interest in literature, which is completely wrong,” said Nadia Bihari Mohanty.
