Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award
2 appearances
Sitakant Mahapatra
シタカント・マハパトラ
Sitakant Mahapatra
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1937-09-17 （Mahanga, Kendrapara District, Odisha, India）
- Nationality
- India
- Languages
- Odia, English
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Literary critic, Civil servant (IAS)
- Active Years
- 1961-
- Affiliations
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS), National Book Trust (Chairman, ex officio), UNESCO: World Decade for Cultural Development (President/Chair roles), Banking Ombudsman of Odisha (first incumbent)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravenshaw College (affiliated to Utkal University), Cuttack | — | History (Honours) | B.A. (Honours) | 1954–1957 | India |
| University of Allahabad | — | Political Science | M.A. | 1957–1959 | India |
| University of Cambridge (Colombo Plan Fellowship) | — | Overseas Development Studies (diploma) | — | 1969 | United Kingdom |
| Harvard University (Ford Foundation fellowship) | — | Fellowship/visiting scholar | — | 1988 | United States |
Ravenshaw College (affiliated to Utkal University), Cuttack
History (Honours)
Degree:
B.A. (Honours)
Period:
1954–1957
Year of Graduation:
1957
Country:
India
Undergraduate course when the college was affiliated to Utkal University
University of Allahabad
Political Science
Degree:
M.A.
Period:
1957–1959
Year of Graduation:
1959
Country:
India
Served as editor of the university journal
University of Cambridge (Colombo Plan Fellowship)
Overseas Development Studies (diploma)
Period:
1969
Year of Graduation:
1969
Country:
United Kingdom
Diploma course under the Colombo Plan Fellowship
Harvard University (Ford Foundation fellowship)
Fellowship/visiting scholar
Period:
1988
Year of Graduation:
1988
Country:
United States
Spent a year as a participant in a Ford Foundation fellowship program
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Orissa Sahitya Academy Award | Ashtapadi | — | Orissa Sahitya Akademi | 受賞 |
| 1984 | Orissa Sahitya Academy Award | — | — | Orissa Sahitya Akademi | 受賞 |
| 1974 | Sahitya Akademi Award (Odia) | Sabdara Akasha (The Sky of Words) | 詩 | Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters) | 受賞 |
| 1985 | Sarala Award | — | — | Sarala Award committee | 受賞 |
| 1993 | Jnanpith Award | — | — | Bharatiya Jnanpith | 受賞（インド最高の文学賞） |
| 2002 | Padma Bhushan | — | 市民栄誉 | Government of India | 受賞 |
| 2011 | Padma Vibhushan | — | 市民栄誉 | Government of India | 受賞 |
| 2013 | Sahitya Akademi Fellow | — | — | Sahitya Akademi | 叙任 |
| 2015 | SAARC Literary Award | — | — | SAARC | 受賞 |
| 2017 | Tagore Peace Award | — | — | Tagore Peace Award committee | 受賞 |
Orissa Sahitya Academy Award
1971
Work:
Ashtapadi
Organization:
Orissa Sahitya Akademi
Result:
受賞
Orissa Sahitya Academy Award
1984
Organization:
Orissa Sahitya Akademi
Result:
受賞
Sahitya Akademi Award (Odia)
1974
Work:
Sabdara Akasha (The Sky of Words)
Category:
詩
Organization:
Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters)
Result:
受賞
Sarala Award
1985
Organization:
Sarala Award committee
Result:
受賞
Jnanpith Award
1993
Organization:
Bharatiya Jnanpith
Result:
受賞（インド最高の文学賞）
Padma Bhushan
2002
Category:
市民栄誉
Organization:
Government of India
Result:
受賞
Padma Vibhushan
2011
Category:
市民栄誉
Organization:
Government of India
Result:
受賞
Sahitya Akademi Fellow
2013
Organization:
Sahitya Akademi
Result:
叙任
SAARC Literary Award
2015
Organization:
SAARC
Result:
受賞
Tagore Peace Award
2017
Organization:
Tagore Peace Award committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Jnanpith Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 29 (1993) Winner
SAARC Literary Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 11 (2015) Winner
Works
Major Works
Sabdara Akasha (The Sky of Words)
1971 PoetryA major Odia poetry collection exploring tradition vs. modernity, spiritual ties to the land, and existential themes.
Tradition and modernizationSpiritualityHome and nature
Translations
- The Sky of Words (English translation)
Samudra
1977 PoetryA collection that uses sea and cosmic imagery to probe existence and memory.
TimeMemoryNature metaphors
Anek Sharat (Travelogue)
1981 Travelogue / EssaysA travelogue reflecting on culture and self through journeys and recollections.
TravelSelf-reflectionCultural comparison
Bibliography
- Dipti O Dyuti (first poetry collection, 1963)
- Ashtapadi (1967)
- Sabdara Akasha (1971)
- Samudra (1977)
- The Ruined Temple and Other Poems (1996)
- Unending Rhythms: Oral Poetry of the Indian Tribes (1992)
Translations by Author
- Translations and anthologies of Odia and tribal oral poetry into English
Translations of Works
- The Sky of Words (English translation of Sabdara Akasha)
- Till My Time Come: Twenty Poems from SAMUDRA (2018 translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Fusion of traditional motifs and contemporary consciousnessConcise, densely symbolic dictionComparative perspective incorporating oral literature
- Recurring Motifs
- Myth and ritualTribal culture and oral poetryTime and memory
Legacy
Sitakant Mahapatra is a major Odia poet and literary scholar, lauded for bridging tradition and modernity and for collecting/translating tribal oral poetry. A Jnanpith laureate and multiple national honoree, he is an important figure in Indian literary history.
Academic Societies
- Sahitya Akademi (Fellow)
- International Academy of Poets (Honorary Fellow)
Trivia
- In 1961 he stood first in the UPSC exam and was among the first Odia to top the exam, joining the IAS.
- Collected and translated numerous oral poems of eastern Indian tribes and is noted for tribal studies.
- Writes poetry mainly in Odia while publishing scholarly work in English.