Vice President Presents 26th Moorti Devi Award to Shri Haraprasad Das
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari presented the “26th Moorti Devi Award” to Shri Haraprasad Das, one of the most influential contemporary poet and thinker in Odia Literature at a function organized by Bharatiya Jnanpith here today. The award consists of a Citation and a cash prize of Rs 4 Lakhs.
Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that Shri Haraprasad Das is amongst the most versatile literary figures in contemporary Indian literature and his versatility and prolificacy can be gauged from his creations. Every author and poet has a different state of mind while writing. He opined that Bharatiya Jnanpith and the distinguished jury, chaired by Dr. Veerappa Moily deserve full credit for an excellent choice for the Award. He congratulated Shri Haraprasad Das for this well deserved recognition and wished him all the best for the future.
Besides his literary genius, Shri Haraprasad Das has been a distinguished Civil Servant. He also served as an expert on several UN Bodies, for around 10 years. He has published until now thirteen volumes of poetry, four volumes of literary criticism and critical thought, one volume of ethnic history, one book of fiction and three works of translation.
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Sanjay Kumar/VPI/04.02.2014