Bhubaneswar: Padma Shri awardee, eminent poet Jayant Mahapatra has tested positive for COVID-19 and is presently undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack.
A team of doctors from the premier hospital is attending to him, a source said.
94 years old Mahapatra has not been keeping well for a long period now. His health condition deteriorated Monday noon following which his family members had to rush him to SCBMCH.
In a tweet, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said he came to know about noted poet Jayant Mahapatra undergoing treatment for COVID-19 infection. He wished for Mahapatra’s speedy recovery.
Born in a prominent Odia family in Cuttack October 22, 1928, Mahapatra did his schooling from Stewart School and completed his M. Sc. in Physics from Patna University, Bihar. He served in several colleges as a lecturer and retired as the Reader in Physics in 1986.
Mahapatra is the first Indian poet to win Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. Indian Summer and Hunger are two of his creations that have been regarded as classics. In recognition of his contribution to the literary world, he was conferred Padma Shri in 2009. And in 2015, he returned the award to the central government, protesting against the rising intolerance in India.
PNN