Dr Ashutosh Parida to receive 47th Sarala Puraskar for ‘Bishwas De Pruthwi’
By Payal Banerjee
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 19: Noted Odia poet, essayist and former CSIR-IMMT scientist Dr Ashutosh Parida has been selected for the 47th Sarala Puraskar for his poetry collection Bishwas De Pruthwi, published by Prabha Publication in 2024.
The prestigious literary award, instituted by the Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), the charitable arm of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA), will be presented to Dr Parida at a ceremony in Bhubaneswar on October 25. He will receive a citation, a copper plaque and a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh.
The Sarala Puraskar is presented annually for outstanding literary achievement in Odia. Dr Parida’s selection recognises the literary merit of Bishwas De Pruthwi, which emerged from a shortlist of seven works considered by the selection process.
The other books in the final round were Aparna Mohanty Ka Payeen Kabita by Aparna Mohanty, Dahana Pada Bama Pada by Padmaja Pal, Sita by Archana Nayak, Mayabarta by Bijay Nayak, Mokhya Mudra by Prakash Mahapatra and Kabi Ka Naam Bedbyash by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi.
The shortlisting committee comprised Dr Indira Dash, Pratiksha Jena, Amiya Bej, Pradip Kumar Panda and Abhay Nayak. The final jury included Dr Sucheta Mishra, Dr Hrushikesh Mallick, Sangram Jena, Swapna Mishra, Prof. Dr Natabar Satapathy, Dr Sarojini Sahoo and Ajay Kumar Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, IMPaCT has also announced the recipients of the 2026 Ila-Bansidhar Panda Kala Samman, instituted to recognise lifetime excellence in the arts. Odissi maestro and Padma Shri awardee Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and sculptor and art educator Damodar Behera have been chosen for the honour.
Both awardees will receive a citation, copper plaque and a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh each. The performing arts jury comprised Guru Puspita Mishra, Dr Nazia Alam and Suramani Abhiram Nanda, while the visual arts jury included Panchami Manoo Ukil, Sangita Patnaik and Veejayant Kumar Dash.
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Photograph: (From left) Dr Ashutosh Parida, Damodar Behera and Guru Durga Charan Ranbir.
