India president Smt D.murmu attended 45 yrs jayanti of sarala sahitya sansad

By Barada Das

Odisha, Jul 22 : Sarala Sahitya Sansad, the premier literary organization of the country celebrated its 45th Annual Function on 15th July 2025, at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack.  Established in 1981 by Dr. Er. Pravakar Swain with like minded friends, it has now a sprawling campus with a 3 storied building having 30,000 sqft floor area at Bijupatnaik Chhak, Tulasipur Cuttack. Since its inception till date it has published more than 100 literary criticism books on ancient and modern odia literature and organized more than 1000 meetings to popularize odia language in different parts of the country. 

This Sarala Sahitya Sansad is established as a memorial to Adikabi Sarala Das, the first odia poet of 15th century, who wrote Mahabharata in Odia for the first time in regional language in the country at Jhankad (Kanakpur), Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha with the blessings of Goddess Maa Sarala.  Sarala Das claimed that he did not know anything and with the blessings of Maa Sarala he was writing this great epic.  He also wrote many other books like “Chandipurana” and “Bilankaramayana”. 

Every year during the annual function of Sarala Sahitya Sansad bestows “Sarala Samman”, carrying a cash prize of Rs. 1.25 lakhs to one of the distinguished writers of the state and “Kalinga Ratna Award”, the highest award of the Sansad to most eminent personality of the State whose contributions has elevated the status of the state in different ways.

This year “Kalinga Ratna Award”, was bestowed on Sri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, Govt. of India and “Sarala Samman” was given to Sri. Bijay Nayak, eminent litterateur of the state.

For the first time the Chief Guest of the function was Her Excellency the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu.  Others who graced the occasion were his Excellency the Governor of Odisha, Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri. Mohan Charan Majhi, Minister of Culture and higher education, Govt. of Odisha, Shri Suryabanshi Suraj, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament, Cuttack.  The meeting was attended by more than 4000 guests from different district of the state and was highly appreciated by all the guests and the dignitaries present on the dais.  It is for the first time the President of India was attending a literary conference in 78 years of Independence of the country.  Earlier also the then Vice President of India Sri. M. Venkaiah Naidu had attended the 40th annual function in the year 2021 and presented “Kalinga Ratna Award” to Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, the distinguished statesman and writer, former Governor of Andhra Pradesh & Chhattisgarh.

On behalf of Sarala Sahitya Sansad, the meeting was presided over by Dr. Er. Pravakar Swain, President of Sarala Sahitya Sansad, others who are present on the dais were Shri. Sahadev Sahoo, former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Odisha, Patron, Prof. Dr. Niranjan Tripathy, Secretary, Padmabhusan,  Dr. Pratibha Ray, eminent litterateur and EC Member.