Poet Haraprasad Das conferred with Kalinga Literary Award

Renowned poet and essayist Haraprasad Das on 11 June 2017 was conferred with the prestigious Kalinga Literary Award.

Das has been chosen for the award for his work and contribution to literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival.

This year, the Kalinga Literary Festival also introduced two new awards: the Kalinga International Literary Award and the Kalinga Karubaki Award.

Anand Neelakantan was honoured with the Kalinga International Literary Award for his contribution towards literature, while Paramita Satpathy was chosen for the Kalinga Karubaki Award for her contribution to Odia poetry.

The three-day literary festival was inaugurated by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, eminent poet and Padma Vibhusan awardee Sitakant Mahapatra and renowned poet Ramakanta Rath. The festival focuses on literature for peace and harmony.

About Kalinga Literary Festival

• Kalinga Literary Festival is an annual literary festival held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

• The festival is normally held in the month of June each year at Mayfair Convention.

• The festival has been founded and directed by Rashmi Ranjan Parida, an award winning journalist.

• It was conceptualized in 2013 and launched in 2014 to celebrate the Classical Language Status of Odia language.

• The Central Theme of the 2017 Kalinga Literary Festival was Literature for Peace and Harmony.