Odia Language Showcase

Everyone has some things she/he treasures – individuals, groups, societies… So also for the Odia nation. Some such treasures that are held dear to Odisha and Odias are showcased here.

This presentation aims at arousing interest about these treasures and to give a chance to the aroused to have a glimpse at them. More material on these subjects can be found in the book section.

1.
Earliest Odia Writings – Caryagitika, Writings from the middle period – Madala Panji, From the modern period – first drama, novel, short story.

2.
Gitagobinda – The immortal lyrics of Jayadeb with various translations of it – Original Sanskrit verses, Odia lyrics by Dharanidhar, Prose rendering by Nilamani Mishra and English translation by the Odisha State Museum.

3.
Siddhant Darpan – the great work by naked-eye astronomer Samanta Chandrasekhar (Pathani Samanta), original Sanskrit along with its translations into Odia, Hindi, English and analysis/interpretations of his work.

4.
The monumental lexicon of Odia language – Purnachandra Odia Bhasakosha

Early Publications

Early Odia Writing – Charyagitika

These poems composed by the Bhuddhist monks around the 10th century CE are cosidered the earliest Odia writings and have proven to be of immense value for the linguists trying to understand the development of Odia language. Hence it would be worth at least a glance by all interested in Odia and Odisha. Simple rendering of these poems in contemporary Odia language will be added here soon.

Early Prose – Madala Panji

The term ‘Madala Panji’ is known to all Odias, many use the word in a satirical sense for something fat. Opinions still vary on its name and on when it was written with 11th-12th century CE being generally accepted. Prof. In the words of Arttaballav Mohanty Madala Panji “occupies a very important place in the discussions on the development of prose writing in regional languages of India.”

From Modern Odia Literature …

First Drama – Babaji (Jaganmohan Lala, 1877). Reprinted version with Kabichandra Kalicharan Patnaik’s introduction.

First Novel – Padmamali (Umesh Chandra Sarkar, 1888)

First Short Story – Rebati (Fakir Mohan Senapati, 1898)
Rebati (English), Translation: Kishoricharan Das
Rebati (Hindi), Translation: Sibapriya Mohapatra