Bhubaneswar, Jul 29 (PTI) Noted freedom fighter, Gandhian and theatre personality of Odisha, Kashinath Sahoo, died at his residence in Pipili following a brief illness, family sources said. Sahoo fell ill and died after a few hours at his residence in Puri district on Tuesday.

He was 108 and is survived by two sons.

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A theatre exponent, dramatist and playwright, Sahoo was among the founders of the Annapurna Theatre Group and had staged more than 100 plays.

The centenarian had been honoured with many awards and felicitated for his performances.

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Regarded as a true Gandhian, he had written many short plays during the freedom struggle and also participated in Mahatma Gandhis 'Harijan Padayatra' in 1934.

He was part of the group which had walked with the Mahatma from Dandamukundpur to Pipili in May 1934, historian Anil Dhir said.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he had written plays highlighting the freedom struggle.

Founder of the first cinema hall of Pipili, which is still running, Sahoo also founded the Pipili Sanskrutika Parishad and many other cultural organisations.

He was among the founders of the Pipili Mahavidyalaya and Jawahar Vidyapeeth.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)