Bhubaneswar: Noted poet Balaram Pujari of Odisha’s Malkangiri breathed his last while undergoing treatment in Bhubaneswar late on Saturday.
A native of Kudumulugumma, he was a teacher at Doraguda UP school in Malkangari district, and was suffering from cancer for a long time.
Pujari has authored five books of poetry – Shabdabrahma, Matimagna, Meghalagna, Shwetapatra and Ishwarakna Bhadi. His compositions are full of vivid imagery, painting a picture of the life and time of Malkangiri and its surroundings in readers’ mind. He also contributed to several magazines. He has won the ‘Pen-in-Books’ award and several other accolades.
“Can’t believe that the ink of the pen which conveys “Greetings from Malkangiri” has ended so soon. I am deeply saddened by the sudden demise of Balaram Pujari, a compassionate man who could illustrate the pride and glory of the tribal land and the pain of the mother and the soil in language,” Rina Routray, Chairperson at Gandhi Odisha Foundation, posted on Facebook.
