Odia Books

Krushna Chandra Tripathi was born in 191l,He is known as ‘Paika kabi’, was born at Bhimapur, Puri. After passing Matriculation, he started his career as a school teacher, and subsequently did B.A. and B.Ed. as a private candidate. Being away from the sophisticated life of the city, he was absorbed in rural atmosphere.

His first poem, ‘Maa prati’ (To Mother, 1928) drew the attention of Laxminarayan Sahu, the then Editor of Sahakar, a leading literary journal of the day, and the poem was published in it. His first collection of poems, Dipti (Brightness, 1935), in spite of its immature thought and feeling, indicates the potentialities of the young poet. Ahuti (Offering, 1955), a collection of patriotic ballads based on the heroic deeds of the Paikas, the traditional warrior class of odisha, made him famous as a poet. His Agni shankha (Fire conch, 1956) is instilled with revolutionary ardour.

In other collections, like Digbalaya (Horizon, 1963), Atmalipi (Autobiography), Rupayana (The delineation), Matidipa (Eastern lamp, 1956), Utsa (The source), Sanketa(The signal), Sadhakara swapna (The dream of a sadhaka) and Bela o bichi (Sea-shore and wave), the poet reveals the pathos and sorrow of rural life. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he depicts the eal picture of rural odisha with all its positive and negative aspects.

His poems are very often set against the beautiful landscape of the countryside. The poet, however, is always conscious of the day-to-day problems and happenings in society and the country as a whole. In the collection of poems such as Rupayana, Matidipa, Digbalaya and Vtsa, the poet is out and out a humanist in temperament. Musa hadi, the scavenger, Neta, the villager in ‘Garibakutira’ (Poor man’s cottage) of Matidipa bring out his sympathy with the suffering people.

Though the poet is a traditionalist in his attitude and technique, at times he tries to write in verse libre (Agni shankha). Atmalipi is a collection of sonnets which follows the sonnet tradition of Madhusudan Rao. He has also written a number of odes, elegies and ballads.

His ballads are based on local myth, historical events and heroic deeds of traditional heroes. His language is simple and clear, and he desists from experiments in technique, style and new poetic diction. He very often lpeaks of the sorrows and sufferings of the country folk, but never does he shut his eyes to contemporary problems and political developments in the country. He does not believe in any ‘ism’ except humanism and follows his own poetic instincts.

Digbalaya
Atmalipi
Rupayana
Matidipa
Sanketa
Sadhakara swapna
Utsa
Dipti
Ahuti