Odia Books

Godabarisha Mahapatra was born in 1898,He is a poet, short story writer and novelist, was one of the most widely read writers in odisha. He began with writing poems, following Radhanath Ray, a nineteenth centu~ poet and Godabarish Mishra, a poet of the Satyabadl group. Banpur (1918), Prabhata kusuma (1920)and Ie phula phuti thila are the collections of his’ early poems. Later he distinguished hirnself as a satirist and attracted the readers with his rich sense of humour.

He began to edit a satirical magazine called Niankhunta. Collections of his later poems include He mora kalama (Oh, my pen, 1951), Handisalare biplaba (Revolt in the kitchen, 1952), Kanta O phula(Thorns and flowers, 1958), Pahachatalara ghasa (Grass blades under the feet), Utha kankala (Rise Oh, skeleton, 1961) and Banka O sidha (The crooked and the straight, 1964).

Banka O sidha won him posthumously the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1966. His satirical poems are about the socio-political aspects of contemporary life. His literary satires are at times too personal to be more than lampoons.

But his poems, ‘Pecha’ (The owl), ‘Chati’, ‘Shaguna’ (The vulture) and ‘Garibara Durgastaba’ (A poor man’s prayer to Goddess Durga) are effective and do have qualities of literary satires.In ‘Utha kankala’ he tried to awaken patriotic feelings in the heart of his countrymen by recounting the glory of ancient odisha. In the realm of Oriya short story also his contribution is remarkable.

Short stories like ‘Mu dine mantri thili’ (Once I was a minister), ‘Magunira sagada’ (A bullock cart of Maguni) and ‘Nila Mastrani(Nila, the school mistress) are some of the best short stories in Odia. The problems of rural life are dealt with in his short stories with a satirical note. His novels like Rajadrohi and Prema pathe are also remarkable. Moreover, Godabarisha Mohapatra was the only litterateur in odisha who succeeded in making his writing a vocation by itself.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Brundabana Chandra Acharya, Godabarisha parikrama (Cuttack, 1969); Murarimohan
Jena, Sahitika Godabarish Mohapatra (Cuttack, 1966).

Odia Books By Godabarisha Mahapatra

Niankhunta
He Mora Kalama

Poems

Kanta O Phula
Magunira Shagada
Nila Mastarani
Kanta O Phula
Banka O Sidha
Mo Khelasahi
Kunira Hati

Short Stories

Magunira Shagada
Nila Mastarani
Mu dine Mantri |Thili
Magunira Sagada
Nila Mastrani