Odia writer Pratibha Ray has been selected for the ONV Cultural Academy’s literary award for 2024. The award, comprising ₹3 lakh, statuette, and a citation, will be presented at a function to be held in the capital on May 27 in connection with poet ONV Kurup’s birth anniversary. The award was decided by a committee chaired by novelist George Onakoor and comprising poet Prabha Varma and writer Mahadevan Thampi.
The jury observed that Ms.Ray, with her writings that depicted the complicated facets of society and of the individual mind in an imaginative manner, had raised Indian novel writing to international standards. Some of her notable works include Droupadi, Shilapadma, Barsa Basantha Baisakha, Yajnaseni and Aparachita. Her efforts to rehabilitate orphans and widows from cyclone affected areas after the Super Cyclone hit Odisha in 1999 were widely appreciated. She was honoured with the Jnanpith Award in 2011 and the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
Durga Prasad’s poetry collection ‘Rathriyil Achaankara’ has been chosen for the ONV Yuva Sahithya Puraskaram.
