Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s literary figure and recipient of Padma Shri this year, Binapani Mohanty will be conferred with the prestigious Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi for her contribution to Odia literature.
The Akademi will facilitate 15 other litterateurs too.
Mohanty has carved a niche for herself in the field of Odia fiction writing. She began her literary career as a storyteller in 1960 with the publication of Gotie Ratira Kahani. Some of her best stories are Pata Dei, Khela Ghara, Naiku Rasta, ‘Bastraharana, Kasturi Murga O Sabuja Aranya and Michhi Michhika. She won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Pata Dei in 1990.
Many of her short stories have been translated into different languages like English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Urdu, Telugu and Russian. A film made on her story, Andhakarara Chhai had won immense appreciation. She has also penned three novels – Sitara Sonita, Manaswini and Kunti, Kuntala, Shakuntala.