Debashish Samantaray with the award. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 3: On the occasion of the 90th birth anniversary of Kishori Charan Das, distinguished personalities recollected the contributions of the litterateur, who was known for his inimitable creations in Odia literature.

Born in 1924, Das is credited for giving a new direction to Odia literature by his thematic depiction of middle-class life and its manifold problems as well as a sense of alienation among the urban intellectuals in the post-Independence era.

At an event organised by the Kishori Charan Smruti Parishad at Sriram Chandra Bhavan here, professor Adikanda Sahu said that Das explored the consciousness of the modern middle-class men and their predicament in the urban milieu through his short stories.

His creations exemplified “salvation through literature”. In fact, his protagonists gave “pronouncement of human soul”, Sahu said, addressing as the chief speaker of the occasion.

Odisha Sahitya Akademi president Satkadi Hota said Das, through his stories and novels, said how precious it was to be born as a human being. Through his creations, he apparently tried to ask readers to take care to live life in a way that honours this precious human birth and makes the best use of it.

His protagonists exemplified how they had the potential to realise the true nature of reality, said Hota.

Delivering the inaugural address, former judge of Orissa High Court Justice Bimal Prasad Das said that through his writings, the legendary author made forthright portrayal of the “pretence” and “hypocrisy” of the urban middle class and upper middle class.

On the occasion, the Kishori Charan Das Sahitya Purashkar – 2014 was given away to Debashis Samantaray for Sata Muhan (True Face), a collection of Odia short stories.