Sahitya Akademi marks Birth Centenary of Odia poet Sachidanand Routray

The birth centenary of noted Odia poet Sachidanand Routray, who is known for his prowess in revolutionary poems, has been celebrated by Sahitya Akademi in a two-day programme on January 12 and 13, 2016 at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi.

Screening of the documentary film on the poet, followed by a welcome address by K Sreenivasrao, secretary, Sahitya Akademi, marked the centennial celebrations. In the introductory remarks, Gaurahari Das, convener, Odia Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi, recalled the poet’s contribution to the Indian freedom movement, with sheer influence from Mahatma Gandhi. In the follow-up sessions, chief guest Ramakant Rath, Odia writer and Sahitya Akademi fellow, defined Sachidanand Routray as a poet who lived the poems he wrote.

In his presidential address, Vishwanth Prasad Tiwari, president, Sahitya Akademi, called Sachidanand Routray a great post-romanticism poet emerged in the era of the mass freedom struggle in the country. The similar implication was conveyed in the keynote address of Odia writer Haraprasad Das. On the second day of the two days of birth centenary celebrations of Sachidanand Routray, various sessions on the poet unfolded, revealing his life and works, such as The Poetry of Sachidanand Routray, Sachidanand Routray The Fictionist, Sachidanand Routray and His Time. Eminent Odia writers, editors and critics carried out comparative studies, analyses and re-readings during the sessions.