Literary Pursuit: Sushama (Panigrahi) Rath Award Established In Shailabala Women’s College

Odia-born American material physicist and Padma Bhushan recipient Dr Bhakta B Rath has established an endowment at Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College in Cuttack in memory of his wife Sushama Panigrahi Rath. She was a distinguished alumnus of the institute.

The objective of the ‘Sushma (Panigrahi) Rath Award’ is to promote literary activity among girls in Odisha, particularly college and university students.

The Award is for ‘best creative writing’ in English for women students in Odisha. It will be presented at the annual function of Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College.

Sushama Rath was the daughter of late Lingaraj Panigrahi, who was the Chief Justice, Minister and Speaker of the State Assembly.

She was a distinguished graduate of Shailabala Women’s College. She did her masters in English and American Literature. She was a member of the ‘honor society Phi Beta Kappa’ and served as a member of a teaching faculty at the Washington State University and the University of Pittsburgh. She later served as a senior programme analyst at the Northern Virginia Community College system.

She was also a strong supporter of many charitable institutions and served as the first lady of ASM International (formerly known as American Society for Metals) during her husband’s tenure as president of the society.

Consistent with late Sushama (Panigrahi) Rath’s life-long commitment to English literature, the award has been created to promote creative writing among women students of Odisha.

Article submission for the year 2019 is currently open. Submission deadline is November 15, 2019.

About the Awards

Sushama (Panigrahi) Rath Award of Rs.10,000/- will be awarded to the Best Creative English writer in Odisha.

Two merit awards of 1000/- each will be awarded to the second and third Creative English writer in Odisha.

Additionally, a prize money of Rs.1,000/- will be awarded to the best entry selected at the college level competition at Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College.

Announcement: All winners will be intimated directly or through their college, as deemed necessary by the selection committee.

Award Distribution: The Award money along with the certificate will be presented at the annual function of Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College (exact date will be intimated). And pictures of the winners might be uploaded on the site.

Interested students can learn about the format and Article Guideline and about the articles to be submitted, from the website: sushamarath.debaki.com