Odia Books

Rabi Singh was born in 1934,He is a revolutionary poet and author and an eloquent public speaker, was born at Naba Patna in Cuttack district. Son of a freedom-fighter, he was drawn to hectic political activities from his childhood and was imprisoned several times. He had little formal education, but read extensively literature and political writings in odia, Bengali and English. He joined the Congress Socialist Party in 1948 and the undivided Communist Party of India in 1953. He took active part in the Goa Liberation Movement in 1955.

Rabi Singh concentrated mostly on literary activities after 1955, and his collections of poems appeared one after another in quick succession, such as Patha-prantar kabita (The poems of roadside, 1959), Charam patra (The final testament, 1961), Sithila balga (The slack rein, 1962), Lal Pagodara preta 0 anyanya kabita (The spirit of the red Pagoda and other poems, 1963), Bhrukuti (Frowning glance, 1963), Bidirna (The broken, 1964), Padatika (Footnotes, 1965), Apritikara kabita (The unpleasant poems, 1966), Jwalara mala (The garland of anguish, 1967), Kshata (Injury, 1968), Bishavani (The poisonous words, 1969), Durgama giri (The impenetrable mountains, 1971), Jhada (The storm, 1973), Sarbahara (The have-nots, 1974), Banya(The flood, 1977) and Anaryara charyapada (The songs of a non-Aryan, 1978).

In all his poems the progressive trend is conspicuous. Almost all his poems voice his determination to fight against old values, double standards and vested interests. His style is simple, sometimes unsophisticated, but very effective. The poems are remarkable for their rhythmic quality and apt use of words. Rabi Singh is restless as a modern,and spontaneous as a primitive poet. Within a short period he has made his mark as a revolutionary poet in
odia literature.

Rabi singh received the odisha Sahitya Academy Award and the Bishuva-Milan award of odisha. His
prose-writings include a travelogue, Goa-yatri (The traveller of Goa, 1956); a volume of stories, Chalantika(Current trend, 1958); a piece of literary discussion, Odia sahityara dharshana (Oppression of odia literature, 1969); and Samskrutira baiplabika mulyabodha (The revolutionary values of culture, 1977).

Rabi Singh is well known in odisha for his fine oratory. Though irregular, he has had an impressive
journalistic career too. He was associated with the editing of several odia and English dailies of the state,and himself edited two well-known odia periodicals. He has also translated a good deal Russian poetry and fiction. His translated work Pakshiraj o anyanya galpa won him the Soviet Land-Nehru Award for 1968.

Charam Patra
Sithila Balga
Bhrukuti
Bidirna
Padatika
Apritikara Kabita
Jwalara Mala
Anaryara Charyapada