Sitakant Mahapatra

Sitakant Mahapatra
ଶୀତାକାନ୍ତ ମହାପାତ୍ର

Sri Mohapatra in 2015
Born (1937-09-17) 17 September 1937
Mahanga, Cuttack, Odisha
Nationality Indian
Occupation poet, literary critic, bureaucrat
Notable work Sabdar Akash (The Sky of Words) (1971)
Samudra (1977)

Sitakant Mahapatra (born 17 September 1937) is a notable Indian poet [1]and literary critic in Odia as well as English.[2][3] He has also been in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) since 1961 until retiring in 1995, and has since held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust, New Delhi.

He has published over 15 poetry collection, 5 essay collections, a travelogue, over 30 contemplative works, apart from numerous translations. His poetry collection have been published in several Indian languages. His notable works are, Sabdar Akash (1971) (The Sky of Words), Samudra (1977) and Anek Sharat (1981).[4][5][6]

He was awarded the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia for his poetry collection, Sabdar Akash (The Sky of Words).[7] He was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1993 "for outstanding contribution to Indian literature" and in its citation the Bharatiya Jnanpith noted, "Deeply steeped in western literature his pen has the rare rapturous fragrance of native soil"; he was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and Padma Vibhushan in 2011[8] for literature apart from winning the Soviet Land Nehru Award, Kabeer Samman and several other prestigious awards.[4]

Early life and education

Born in 1937 in village Mahanga, situated on the banks of Chitrotpala, a tributary of the great Mahanadi,[9] Sitakant Mahapatra grew up reciting a chapter of Odia version of Bhagwad Gita in a traditional household. After his schooling from Korua government high school, he chose to join Ravenshaw College, Cuttack (then affiliated with Utkal University), where he did his B.A. in History Honours 1957, this was followed by master's degree in Political Science from Allahabad University in 1959. During that time, he was the editor of the university journal. It was here that he started writing both in English and Odia, though later he decided to write poetry solely in his native, Odia realising that "a poet can express himself only in the language in which he dreams", his scholastic works however are in English.[6][10]

In 1969, he did a Dip. Overseas Development Studies at Cambridge University, under the Colombo Plan Fellowship.[6][11]

Subsequently, in 1988 he spent a year in Harvard University as a participant in the Ford Foundation fellowship programme.

Career

He took to teaching for two years at Post-Graduate Department of Utkal University, before taking the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) examination.

He joined the IAS in 1961 as the first Odia to top the statewide examination, and went on to hold several key post, including Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and President, UNESCO's World Decade for Cultural Development (1994–1996). . He has held many other ex officio positions including those of Senior Fellow of Harvard University; Honorary Fellow of International Academy of Poets, Cambridge University, and Chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi.[10] He is the recipient of many awards including the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1971 and 1984; Sahitya Akademi Award, 1974; Sarala Award, 1985; culminating in India's highest literary honour the Jnanpith Award in 1993.

His first collection of poetry in Odia, Dipti O Dyuti was published in 1963, his second anthology, Ashtapadi came out in 1967, and won him the Odisha Sahitya Academy award, while his third and most celebrated anthology, Sara Akash (1971), got him the Sahitya Akademi Award, given by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.[9] Since then he has published over 350 poems in Odia and about 30 publications in English on literary criticism and culture. He spent two years studying tribals of Eastern India on a Homi Bhabha Fellowship (1975–1977).[12] He has also two books on social anthropology published by the Oxford University Press, these books deal with the ambivalent relationship between the old ritual based society and state-sponsored development, and explores the reason behind developmental programmes failing in tribal areas despite state efforts. Close ties with the tribals, and his fluency with the Santal tribal culture and the Santali language has led to the publication of nine anthologies of oral poetry of the tribals, which he not only collected, but also translated.[6]

Among notable works are: Ashtapadi, 1963, Shabdara akasha, 1971, Ara drushya, 1981, Shrestha kavita, 1994, (all poetry); Sabda, Svapna O nirvikata, 1990 (essays), Aneka sarata, 1981 (travelogue); Ushavilasa, 1996 (palm leaf manuscript); In English: The ruined Temple and other poems, 1996 (poetry, translation); and Unending Rhythms (Oral poetry of Indian Tribals in translation).

Awards and recognition

He is the recipient of many awards including the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1971 and 1984; the Sahitya Akademi Award, 1974; Sarala Award, 1985; culminating in India's highest literary honour the Jnanpith Award in 1993. In 2002, he was honoured by the Government of India with a Padma Bhushan. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of India. Recently got Lifetime achievement award for literature at the 49th SAARC Literature festival held at Agra.

Bibliography

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sahitya Akademi : Who's Who of Indian Writers". Sahitya Akademi. Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Deceptive simplicity". The Hindu. 1 December 2002.
  3. ↑ Keki N. Daruwalla (25 September 1996). "The Mahapatra Muse: Two deeply vivid volumes of poems from the oriya masters". The Outlook.
  4. 1 2 Jnanpith, p. 18
  5. ↑ "Ayyappa Paniker commemoration today". Ebuzz – Indian Express News Service. 20 September 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Unveiling of a poet". The Financial Express. 3 March 2002.
  7. ↑ Sahitya Akademi Award winners in Oriya Sahitya Akademi
  8. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Jnanpith, p. 19
  10. 1 2 "Universal appeal". The Hindu. 1 January 2006.
  11. ↑ Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra Mumbai MTNL
  12. ↑ Jnanpith, p. 20
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