Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Number One Civilian Award, the prestigious Odisha Living Legend Award of 2018 for Excellence on Literature was conferred on Shri Ramakanta Rath, the doyen of Odia Literature. In a simple and elegant function here at the Crown Hotel, Shri Rath received the award from Shri Pratap Jena, Hon’ble Minister of Health, Law and Information and Broadcasting and Shri Chanchalpathi Dasa, the Vice Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Shri Rashmi Ranjan Parida, the Founder-Chairperson of Odisha Diary Foundation and Shri Debasish Samantaray, convenor of Living Legend Awards joined Minister Shri Jena and Shri Dasa in felicitating Shri Rath for his excellent and unparalleled contribution to Odia Literature.
Shri Ramakanta Rath needs no introduction for any Odia literature lover. He has, in fact, made a mark at the national and global levels as well as a thinking, sensitive and compassionate literary voice on love, devotion, longing and spiritual union. Famous for his Odia poetry book Sri Radha, Shri Rath is one of the most recognised modernist poets in the Odia literature. He experimented with different styles and forms of poetry and the poetic expressions in his creations that often direct the reader to go in search for spiritual and metaphysical aspects of life. For his distinct poetic creations, he has been conferred with Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, Saraswathi Samman in 1992, Bishuva Samman in 1990, country’s third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan in 2006. He was the vice president and President of the Sahitya Academy from 1993 to 1998 and 1998 to 2003 respectively in New Delhi.
Apart from Odisha Living Legend Awards, Odisha Diary Foundation conferred several youth icons with Odisha Youth Inspiration Awards, inspiring business leaders with OdishaInc Awards and two annual special citations to innovative initiatives. The Foundation has also introduced the National Living Legend Award from this year.
Odisha Diary celebrated its 14th foundation day and the 8th anniversary of the Living Legend Awards. The event was hosted by Ms Dikshya Tiwari and Mr Kamala Kanta Dash. Shri Rashmi Ranjan Parida delivered the welcome address. Ms Prachee Naik, the Cofounder, managed and coordinated the event and the official vote of thanks was offered by Shri Debasish Samantarya.
About Odisha Diary Foundation
Odisha Diary Foundation is a not-for-profit trust that organises and manages festivals and functions the Odisha Living Legend Awards, Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) and Mystic Kalinga Festival (MKF). The foundation has been registered to carry forward the socio-cultural and capacity development activities of Odisha Media Info Services (OMIS). OMIS manages the leading online media platforms including that Odisha Diary, India Education Diary and OdishaInc. The foundation has taken KLF to Kandhamal and Koraput in last one year.
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