Citadel of Love (Winner of The Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award)

Based on folklore, legends and myths, and backed by meticulous research, Citadel of Love is set in Orissa of the thirteenth century-considered the state’s golden age, when the Konark temple was being built under king Narasimha Deva’s patronage.

A modern-day foreigner, Charles, arrives with his fiancée to study the konark region. As he discovers palm leaf manuscripts and records tales that have been handed down for generations, he begins to have strange experiences. A woman’s statue, in particular, haunts him till he is transported to a time when she was alive and the Konark complex was under construction. Two mystical love stories of the past unfold, even as new romance blooms in Charles life.

Surreal, mysterious and often bordering on the magical real, this is a tale of passion that spans centuries.

Pratibha Ray, formerly Professor in Education and former Member, Odisha Public Service Commission, is one of the leading fiction writers in India writing in her mother tongue Odia. Her literary focus is on psychosocial analysis of people, tribes and characters. She is powerfully drawn to history and legends and often builds intricate narratives around themes that are part of the racial consciousness. She has several novels, travelogues, short story, poetry and essay collections to her credit. She is the recipient of the Jnanpith Award for her contribution to Indian literature, the Moorti Devi Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri given by the Government of India.

Monalisa Jena was born in Odisha. She is the author of many books in various genres, including two collections of short stories, three books of poems and several volumes of translations. She has to her credit three collections of poems in Odia. Her short stories are collected in Indramalatira Shoka and Nilamadhabi. Ms Jena also wrote a biography of the noted Odia poet Ramakanta Rath besides translating and editing Dasuram’s Script, a collection of contemporary Odia stories published in 2013.