Bhubaneswar: Veteran Odia poet Satrughna Pandav was conferred the prestigious Sarala award for his poetry collection 'Mishra Dhrupad'.

He received the 39th Sarala Puraskar during a special event held yesterday here.

Pandav was felicitated with a cash award of Rs 5 lakh and a citation at the programme organised by IMPaCT at Hotel Mayfair in Bhubaneswar last evening.

Speaking on the occasion, Pandav said that poetry is everything to him. It is a means to connect with the divinity.

Besides, two more personalities were honoured for their contribution in fields of music and art. While Umesh Chandra Kar was awarded Ila Panda Sangeet Samman, Binod Moharana received Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman. Both received cash awards of Rs 1.5 lakh each along with citations.

Eminent novelist Govind Mishra presented the awards to three legendary faces during the function.

Gracing the event, Mishra defined the true meaning of literature. He said that not all the write-ups are the literature, but few special creations with a focus on equality, sensitivity and fraternity are the chief source of literature.