Odia Books

Jnanindra Barma was born in 1916.He is a well known odia poet, novelist and translator. He was born in a moderately rich zamindar family, but was deprived of college education.,In the beginning of his literary career he was closely associated with two well·known periodicals of the time, Arati and Samkha. He was also the editor of the now defunct story magazine Mausumu,and of the Utkala Sahitya when it was revived in 1973. Presently he is the News Editor of the News of the World, the prominent English daily published from odisha.

A versatile writer,he has about 40 titles to his credit,which include poems, poetic dramas,novels, and odia translations of several European and American classics.His early poetry covering almost a quarter of a century (1940-64) is very much in the romantic tradition.It is descriptive and lyrical and depicts the themes of love, nature and human sorrow.

The poems like ‘Krishaka Balika’, ‘Byathita Asadha’ and ‘Kalarei Phula’ belong to this category. In ‘Krishaka Balika’ the poet gives a sympathetic portrayal of a village girl who on, a rainy evening visits her neighbour to borrow some rice, as her family is hungry. Elsewhere his romantic sensibility revolts against social iniquities and contradictions. He is out to destroy the decrepit social order and invokes and celebrates the spirit of destruction embodied in the mythical character Hiranyakasipu. In another poem he looks upon Lord Jagannath as a hypocritical god and desires the demolition of the famous temple at Puri.

However, with Renasar O Dikadensara Epik (Epic of Renaissance and Decadence, 1964) his poetry takes
a different turn. This long poem is highly experimental in its style; it abandons traditional metre and evolves a free-verse form; its diction is a queer mixture of the colloquial and the learned. The central situation is taken from childhood memory: a young village boy escorting his girl friend to see a ‘yatra’ performance.

As the adult speaker ruminates over the experience, many scenes of country life pass across his vision. He is not able to grasp their meaning. Most of the people he remembers are either dead by now or have left the village in search of a livelihood in the city. Thus his consciousness blends personal memory with general history. This is a poem about the loss of beauty and meaning in life. At times it is eccentric, and lacks orderly organisation of its material.

His Ebam Brihannala O Chandrara Fasil (A Brihannala and the fossil of the moon, 1967) contains two
long poems. ‘Chandrara Fasil’ repeats the theme of Renasar Epik in terms of a story from the Arabian
Nights. ‘Ebam Brihannala’ is an ironical comment on contemporary life, its moral and spiritual decay. Among his novels Bhumika (Preface, 1954), a realistic study of life in rural odisha, deserves special mention for its close critical analysis of human problems, its psychological insight, and moral fervour. His Aranyara Kujjhatika (Mists of the Forest, 1973) is based on the life of the renowned odia painter, the late Bimbadhara Barma.

Further Works Poetry: Sana Dinara Kavita (1940), Swarnayugara Sandhya (Evening of the golden
Age, 1957), Charbakara Charyapada (Meditations of Charbak, 1971). Novels: Satabdira Swapnabhanga
(Disillusionment of the Century, 1944), Aparahnara Akasa (Sky of the Afternoon, 1966), Elorara
Chayabithi (Shady Groves of Ellora, 1966). odia translations: Podabhui O Anyanya Kavita (The Waste
Land and Other Poems, 1957), Durbadala (Leaves of Grass, 1957); Neela Bihanga (The Blue Bird, 1962),
Nana (1963). BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mayadhara Mansingh. Odia Sahityara Itihasa (Cuttack. 1976), Pathani Patnaik. Odia Upanyasa Parichaya (Cuttack, 1966).

Arabian Nights
Krishaka Balika
Byathita Asadha
Kalarei Phula
Ebam Brihannala
Sana Dinara Kavita

Magazine

Mausumu
Utkala Sahitya