Bhubaneswar: Renowned Odia artist Prafulla Mohanti was conferred with the prestigious Sukubina Srastha Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of art and culture.
The second annual Sukubina Srastha Award, instituted in the memory of popular short story writer and philanthropist Sudhir Kumar Bijayendra Narayan, known as Sukubina, was presented by eminent writer Santanu Acharya at an event in Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The second part of the complete works of Sukubina, ‘Japani Babunka Katha Samahara’, was also released on the occasion. Well known story teller, Meera Das read a story of Sukubina on the occasion, a press release said.
An exhibition of the artist’s works was held along with the screening of an award winning short film made by BBC on his life, ‘My Village, My Life’, based on his book of the same name.
Speaking on the occasion, Acharya described the journey of artist Mohanti from a remote village of Odisha to international fame. He also spoke about his acquaintance with Sukubina and said his lovable persona was reflected in his stories.
Mohanti narrated his struggle to be accepted as an artist and writer in western society and said his work was a product of the two worlds he straddled. He also described the essence of his art as the circle which represents mother earth as well as Lord Jaganath.
Giving the welcome address, renowned story teller Jitendra Narayan Das said that no one was more deserving of the recognition than Mohanti. He spoke of the deep connection between the artist and the late story teller and narrated a story by Sukubina which described Mohanti’s predicament in an endearing manner.
Eminent writer Gaurahari Das described the simple yet heart touching stories of Sukubina which had a lasting impact.
