Oriya Literature - Age of Radhanath

Age of Radhanath

The first printing of the Oriya language was done in 1836 by Christian missionaries, replacing palm leaf inscription and revolutionising Oriya literature. After this time books were printed and journals and periodicals became available in Oriya. The first Oriya magazine, Bodha Dayini was published in Balasore in 1861. Its goal was to promote Oriya literature and draw attention to lapses in government policy. The first Oriya paper The Utkal Deepika, was first published in 1866 under editor Gouri Sankar Ray and Bichitrananda. The Utkal Deepika campaigned to bring all Oriya-speaking areas together under one administration, to develop the Oriya language and literature and to protect Oriya interests.

In 1869 Bhagavati Charan Das started another newspaper, Utkal Subhakari, to propagate the Brahmo faith. In the last 3-1/2 decades of the 19th century, a number of newspapers were published in Oriya. Prominent papers included Utkal Deepika,Utkal Patra, Utkal Hiteisini from Cuttack, Utkal Darpan and Sambada Vahika from Balasore and Sambalpur Hiteisini from Deogarh. The success of these papers indicated the desire and determination of the people of Odisha to uphold their right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, with the ultimate aim of freedom from British rule. These periodicals performed another vital function, in that they encouraged modern literature and offered a broad reading base for Oriya-language writers. Intellectuals who came into contact with Oriya literature through the papers were also influenced by their availability.

Radhanath Ray (1849–1908) is the most well-known poet of this period. He wrote with a Western influence, and his kavyas (long poems) included Chandrabhaga, Nandikeshwari, Usha, Mahajatra, Darbar and Chilika.

Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843–1918), the most known Oriya fiction writer, was also of this generation. He was considered the Vyasakabi or founding poet of the Oriya language. Senapati was born raised in the coastal town of Balasore, and worked as a government administrator. Enraged by the attempts of the Bengalis to marginalize or replace the Oriya language, he took to creative writing late in life. Though he also did translations from Sanskrit, wrote poetry and attempted many forms of literature, he is now known primarily as the father of modern Oriya prose fiction. His Rebati (1898) is widely recognized as the first Oriya short story. Rebati is the story of a young innocent girl whose desire for education is placed in the context of a conservative society in a backward Odisha village, which is hit by the killer cholera epidemic. His other stories are “Patent Medicine”, “Dak Munshi”, and ”Adharma Bitta”. Senapati is also known for his novel Chha Maana Atha Guntha. This was the first Indian novel to deal with the exploitation of landless peasants by a feudal lord. It was written well before the October revolution in Russia and emerging of Marxist ideas in India.

Other eminent Oriya writers and poets of the time include Gangadhar Meher (1862–1924), Madhusudan Rao, Chintamani Mohanty, Nanda Kishore Bal and Gaurisankar Ray.