Odia poet Nityananda Nayak who is renowned for his literary work has been granted the prestigious Sarala Puraskar on Monday.
The award that is given on a yearly basis to the eminent poets for their contribution to literature, consists of a citation, trophy and Rs 5 lakh as prize.
A simple event was held to present the award to Nityananda with strict coronavirus restrictions.
The Sarala Puraskar has been started by famous Odia industrialist Dr Bansidhar Panda and Ila Panda in 1980.
Nityananda was given the award for his poetry collection Sete Bela Ku Nathibi.
Also, two other creative people were given the award for their work in the areas of music and arts.
‘Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman’ was given to Shyamsundar Pattanayak and ‘Ila Panda Sangeet Samman’ was awarded to Ranjeet Kumar Nag.
By Sahana Iyer
