Two Odia Stalwarts Honoured With Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award

Noted writers from Odisha, Tarun Kanti Mishra and Kali Charan Hembram were conferred with the prestigious Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for 2019 in Odia and Santali category, respectively at a function held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Mishra was selected for ‘Bhaswati’, a collection of 14 short stories in Odia while Hembram was selected for ‘Sisirjali’, a book of short stories. The awards, an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and Rs 1,00,000 were presented to Mishra and Hembram during the Festival of Letters organised by the Sahitya Akademi.

The 14 stories in ‘Bhaswati’ are on varied themes ranging from love, hope, dream, despair, death to salvation. They are unique for both, their intensity and poetic style and also for their surreal and mystic content. The short stories are characterised by a mobility of style, deep human empathy and grace. The author has successfully portrayed his characters and the world they live in, and made each of the short stories a complete world in itself.

The stories in ‘Sisirjali’ portray the social, cultural and religious life of Santals belonging to different social strata in a simple, lively language, and an innovative narrative technique. The short stories are rich in dealing with several contemporary themes ranging from the life of Santals living in remote villages to the issues of poverty and Maoism, disturbing socio-cultural upheaval caused by globalisation, and in calling for the timeless efficacy of love and wisdom.