Odisha: Eminent litterateur Padma Shri Jayanta Mahapatra passes away at 95

Cuttack: Legendary poet and Padma Shri awardee Jayanta Mahapatra is no more. He breathed his last at the age of 95 while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack, after suffering from Pneumonia.

The noted Indian English poet was previously suffering from old-age-related complications.

Worth mentioning, Mahapatra was born on 22nd October 1928. He is the first Indian poet to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry. He is the author of poems such as ‘Indian Summer’ and ‘Hunger’, which are regarded as classics in modern Indian English literature.

The eminent poet was awarded Padma Shri in 2009. However, he returned the award in 2015 protesting against the much-debated and rising intolerance in the country. He was the first from Odisha to join the long list of laureates who returned their awards in protest.

Explaining his stand further, Mahapatra claimed it to be a personal choice and clarified that it is in no way connected to Sahitya Akademi.

Mahapatra is the author of 27 books on poems, of which seven are in Odia and the rest in English.