Odia poet Rajendra Kishore Panda receives Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar

Renowned Odia poet Dr Rajendra Kishore Panda has been awarded the Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar, the national award instituted in memory of the late poet laureate Kuvempu, for 2020.

The award includes a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a silver medal, and a citation. Under the chairmanship of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah, a three-member committee comprising Kannada poet Dr. H.S. Shivaprakash, Bengali author Shyamal Bhattacharya and Agrahara Krishnamurthy, former secretary of Central Sahitya Academy had finalized the name of Dr Panda.

Who is Dr Rajendra Kishore Panda?

•Dr Rajendra Kishore Panda was born on June 24, 1944. He writes in Odia language and has 16 poetry collections and a novel published.

•Dr Panda received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985, a D. Litt degree by Sambalpur University in 2004, and the Gangadhar National Award in 2010.

•Gaun Devata (Minor Gods) was his first collection of poems that was published in 1947.

About Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar

•The Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar was instituted by the Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Trust in 2013 in memory of the late poet laureate Kuvempu to honor literateurs for their contribution in Indian languages recognized by the Constitution of India.

•The Award has been conferred to writers from Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Marathi, Punjabi, and Kannada at programs organized in Kuppali, Shivamogga district, the birthplace of Kuvempu on December 29 to commemorate his birth anniversary. The award for 2020 was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.