Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 29th October 2025
The 2nd Sarat Kumar Kar Memorial Lecture was delivered yesterday evening at Gita Govinda Sadan, Bhubaneswar by noted Public Intellectual and Academician, Shri Dash Benhur. The topic of the Memorial Lecture was “Absence of Intellectuals in Contemporaneous Politics in India”. Shri Dash lamented that intellectuals like Shri Kar are not being made to feel welcome by political parties today and that attitude has to change to save democracy.
The event was organised by the Sarat Kar & Anima Kar Foundation and was presided over by its Co-Chairman, Shri Suman Kar.
Former Minister and veteran political leader, Shri Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, was the Chief Guest and he spoke about the life and contributions of Late Sarat Kumar Kar.
On this occasion, the Foundation gave away the second editions of the following three awards instituted last year:
(1) Rajat Kumar Kar Memorial Award for Best Young Cultural Personality
(2) Sarat Kumar Kar Memorial Award for Best Young Parliamentarian/Legislator
(3) Anima Kar Memorial Award for Best Young Playback Singer
The winners this year were Shri Arun Kumar Tripathy, Researcher and Poet, Shri Sujeet Kumar, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), and Smt. Sohini Mishra, acclaimed Playback Singer, respectively.
Three books published by the Foundation were also released – two in Odia and one in English. The authors, Prof. Bijay Kumar Mishra, Dr. Dilip Lenka, Shri Uchhaba Mohapatra, and Smt. Sudipta Mishra were felicitated by the Foundation.
Many eminent people attended the function including former Ministers, Shri Niranjan Patnaik and Shri Amar Prasad Satpathy, Chairman of the Odisha State Finance Commission, Dr. Arun Panda, renowned academicians, Shri Narendra Das and Smt. Rekha Das, eminent journalist, Shri Prabhu Kalyan Mohapatra, celebrated poet, Dr. Manorama Biswal Mohapatra, former IRS officer and Founder of Kalinga Literary Festival, Shri Ashok Bal, renowned cricket and life coach, Shri Kishore Mania, and many other dignitaries including political leaders, academicians, bureaucrats, writers, and admirers of Sarat Kumar Kar from Mahanga and other parts of Odisha.
The event was coordinated by Shri Abani Chandra Das, Editor of “Nirvika”, which was founded by Sarat Kumar Kar in 1958 and is now published by his younger son, Shri Sobhan Kar, on behalf of the Foundation. The event ended with a vote of thanks proposed by the Chairman of the Sarat Kar & Anima Kar Foundation, Shri Sobhan Kar.
