Kalpanakumari Devi
Born1936
Cuttack, Khadianta,[1] India
Died28 August 2017(2017-08-28) (aged 80–81)
Kolkata, India
LanguageOdia
NationalityIndian
Notable worksAchihna Basbhumi [2]
Notable awardsSahitya Akademi Award
SpouseKanduri Charan Das [3]

Kalpanakumari Devi (1936 – 28 August 2017) was an Indian novelist and poet in the Odia language. She won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for Odia literature.

Biography

Kalpanakumari Devi (also spelled Kalpana Kumari Devi or Debi) was born in Odisha in 1936. She moved to Kolkata in 1958.[4] Her first novel, Kabi, was published in 1954.[4] Her observations on the social changes in the country were recognised.[5]

She was awarded the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for Odia literature for her novel Achinha Basabhumi.[4]

She was married to the Odia writer Kanduri Charan Das, who died in 2014. Their daughter Shabarni Das is an editor of a Bengali journal, Prathama.[6]

Kalpanakumari Devi died in Kolkata on 28 August 2017.[7]

Controversy

After Kalpanakumari Devi's Achinha Basabhumi was nominated for the Sahitya Akademi award, several Odia litterateurs protested against it,[8] citing procedural irregularities as well critical differences with the choice. Upon the announcement of the award to the author, Barendra Krushna Dhal, a member of the Sahitya Akademi's advisory board resigned in protest. Sricharan Pratap Kanishka, an Odia writer, filed a public interest litigation with the Orissa High Court in January 2012 against the award, leading to an interim stay of the presentation ceremony. His complaint was that, in order to be eligible for the award, the book should have been published between 2007 and 2009, and he accused the book's publisher of having back-dated its publication date to 2009, whereas, he claimed, it was published in 2010.[9][10]

The litigation was rejected by the high court on 14 February 2012, and Kalpanakumari Devi received the award.[4]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ Orissa reference: glimpses of Orissa. TechnoCAD Systems. 2001.
  2. ^ "HC stays Akademi Award for novel". newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Odisha: Popular Detective novel writer Kanduri Charan das is no more, Odisha Current News, Odisha Latest Headlines". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Lalmohan Patnaik (14 February 2012). "Court clears way, author gets award: Kalpana Kumari Devi gets top literarary honour for Achinha Basabhumi". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Archived from the original on 22 September 2015.
  5. ^ S. L. Shastry (1973). Contemporary Indian Literature. Vol. 13. p. 18.
  6. ^ Bibhuti Patnaik (16 June 2014). "Life of a legend". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  7. ^ "ବିଶିଷ୍ଟ ସାହିତ୍ୟିକା କଳ୍ପନାକୁମାରୀ ଦେବୀଙ୍କ ପରଲୋକ". sambad.in (in Odia). 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  8. ^ Namita Panda (31 December 2011). "Furore over award to Kalpanakumari". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016.
  9. ^ "HC Judgment on Odia Novel Today". New Indian Express. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  10. ^ Dhrutikam Mohanty (15 January 2012). "Odia novel not Odia enough". The Sunday Indian. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
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