Rath, Ramakanta: - Born on December 13, 1934, in Cuttack, Ramakant Rath is one of the most renowned contemporary poets of Odia literature. After completing an M.A. in English literature from Ravenshaw College he joined Indian Administrative Service in 1957 and retired as Chief Secretary of the state of Odisha. He has published more than twenty poetry collections to his credit. Among many awards, he has received, Central Sahitya Academy award for the poetry collection Saptama Rutu in 1978, Saraswati Samman for the long poem Sriradha in 1992, Sahitya Academy Fellowship in 2009 and Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman in 2018. He has also received Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award in 2006.