Odia Books

Durga Madhab Mishra was born in 1929,he is a senior member of the Indian Police Service, is a prolific writer of short stories, poems, essays and children’s literature. Remarkable for the penetrating portrayal of reality,his writings combine the critical probe of a police officer with the transcending compassion of a humanist.In his stories one finds a tender analysis of human suffering in all its complexities.

Not enamoured of the modern experimentation, he has written stories which are most often free from deliberate cerebration and artificial contrivances of form. The appeal of his stories lies in their simplicity and immediacy. The story collection titled Nishadara nisabda barana (The hunter’s silent admonition) which got odisha Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981, is a brilliant testimony to his craftmanship and vision.

His other story collections are: Jautishe kahichanti (Astrologers predict), Mandakranta (Mandakranta, Sanskrit metre), Tara o timira (stars and darkness), and Falgure banya (Flood in the river Falgu). His poems are remarkably simple and lyrical, and reflect a human concern and deep sympathy for the downtrodden, the lives of the rural folks and the tribals. He has to his credit five collections of poems.

Muthie mati chinae akash (A handful of soil shows the sky), Brutta abartta (Circles, whirlpools), Ugrasen ubacha (Thus spoke Ugrasen), Mouna mukhar (Silent yet voluble) and Asamapika (The incomplete). Besides stories and poems he has also written essays on contemporary themes such as crime, juvenile delinquency and immoral traffic.

His essays show his critical understanding and sympathetic treatment of the problems which are responsible for the deep-seated evils in the present day life.Mishra’s volumes of children’s stories, Asura tapu (The island of demons), Aja asichhanti (Grandpa has come), and two volumes of poems for children, Chha rutu ame chha bhai (Six seasons, we are six brothers) and Thakur puja (The Lord’s worship) have been published.

The characteristic simplicity of expression, mingled with haunting rhythm in poems written for children make them extremely attractive for everyone. His writings show deep understanding of the child’s mind.

Odia Books By Durga Madhab Mishra

Nishadara nisabda barana
Jautishe kahichanti
Mandakranta
Tara o timira
Falgure banya

Poems

Brutta abartta
Ugrasen Ubacha
Mouna mukhar
Asamapika

Children’s Stories

Asura tapu
Aja asichhanti