It is a sad day for the Odia people and the state of Odisha. The state woke up mourning the death of legendary writer from Odisha Binapani Mohanty. She was 85 years of age and passed away at midnight in her residence at Cuttack due to age-related problems.
A professor in Economics, Mohanty has more than 100 books to her credit. She was the younger sister of eminent doctor Nirupama Rath and advocate Sachinadanda Mohanty, both of whom have passed away. She has conferred with Padma Shri in Literature and Education category in 2020 and received the prestigious ‘Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman’. Besides, she was also honoured with Sahitya Akademi Award and Sarala Samman.
Binapani Mohanty received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1990 for her collection of short stories entitled ‘Pata Dei and other stories.’ ‘Patadei’ was published as ‘Lata’ in Femina in 1986. Its Hindi dramatisation ‘Kashmakash’, telecast on Doordarshan, in the late 1980s was a hit. She wrote three novels and translated Russian folktales to Odia.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi condoled the death of the noted writer and wrote, “Pained by the passing away of noted writer Binapani Mohanty Ji. She made monumental contributions to Odia literature, especially fiction writing. Her works have been translated into various languages and attained great popularity. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti.”
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief, saying it was an irreparable loss for the Odia literature world. “She will always remain in the hearts of the people for her literary works. I express my condolence to the bereaved family members,” he said.
Naveen Patnaik has declared that her funeral will be held with full state honours.
