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a notable poet of Padavali literature in Odisha, lived in the last part of the 18th century. He was a contemporary of Birakishbre Deb (1735-1792) of Khurda Raj family. He was
known in his day as one of the most popular writers of Odisha. His fame as a Vaishnava-devotee and a poet spread throughout Odisha through singers, devotees, dancing girls and even through common people who wanted to remember his impassioned songs either for their private prayers to god, or to please the gatherings of devotees.

In spite of this popularity he was being often confused with a number of Banamali Dasas, who were also known as poets. One of these Banamati Dasas was the writer of Chata Ichhabati (a poem of romance) who flourished most probably in the 16th century. The other Banamali Das, popularly known as Sisu Banamali, was a poet of the same period and was known for his Rasa Kavya. The third Banamali Das known as the
writer of Sachitra Ramayana, a translation of Bhojaraja Champu, was also a contemporary of Birakishore Deb of Khurda. Though these poets were well-known for their Kavyas, they are not to be confused with Banamali Das under discussion, who was and has all along been famous for his extremely melodious devotional songs and fine Padavali lyrics.

From the inadequate materials available about him the following can be said about his life. He was an inhabitant of Puri and was born in a Karana (Kayastha) family. His original family title was Pattanaik. After accepting the Vaishnava cult, he came to be known as Ballavananda Das. But by that time, as he had already been known as a poet, he preferred to retain his earlier name instead of the name given to him by his Guru. A collection of his poems was first published in 1934, long after his death, with the title Banamali Padyabali, under the joint editorship of Babaji Baishnaba Charan Das and Samanta Gaurakrishna Kabiratna Pattanaik. In this collection there were about 200 poems. The editors claimed that they had collected the poems from a
manuscript written by the poet himself. In the subsequent editions of this collection, another 34 poems appear, in which the names of Charan Das, a close friend and supporter of the poet, and Birakishore Deb, the patron of the poet, figure.

The time prior to Banamali Das was known as the Riti School of poetry, which almost reached its climax in the works of Upendra Bhanja. Words fascinated the poets of Riti School, and they attempted not mere arrangement but almost played with words wherever they needed and wherever they wished, for the purpose of alliteration and assonance. Banamali did not follow this tradition. He was more interested in thoughts than words. He always geared his language to the need of thought and never permitted himself any indulgence with sound. His use of colloquial and idiomatic language, as also the simplicity of his diction moved him towards clarity and precision so much that his popularity soon reached a new high and even surpassed that of most of his predecessors.

Banamali was a fine lyric poet, and one of the finest in Odia literature and ranked with Kavisurya and Gopal Krishna for his intense and impassioned emotions and haunting melody.

• Dinabandhu Daitari
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