Kanhu Charan Mohanty (11 August 1906 – 6 April 1994) was an Indian

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

novelist who wrote fifty-six novels in a career spanning over six decades from 1930 to 1985. He is considered "one of the most popular and celebrated novelists of Odisa". Mohanty was awarded the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1958 for his novel, ''Kaa'', published in 1956, and was one of the fellows of the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

. Mohanty died on 6 April 1994 at the age of 87.

Personal life

Kanhu Charan Mohanty was born on 11 August 1906 in Nagabali village of

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literally ...

, India, to an Odia family. He is an elder brother of Gopinath Mohanty (1914–91) who was also a

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

-winning (1974) Odia novelist. He completed his schooling at

and joined an engineering college which he was forced to leave due to financial difficulties. Later, he completed his graduation from Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University) in 1929. Mohanty joined as a clerk in Government Service and retired as a Senior Administrative Officer in 1964. Mohanty died on 6 April 1994 at the age of 87.

Literary works

Mohanty wrote his first novel ''Utshabe Byasane'' during 1923–24. However, the novel was never published and its manuscript could not be traced later. His novels first published in 1930, ''Arana'' and ''Patalaka''. His 1932 published novel ''Nishpatti'' is considered the first Oriya novel to depict the events of a marriage between a child and a widow. He published two novels in 1944, ''Bhala Paibara Sesha Katha'' and ''Tunda Baida''. ''Bhala Paibara Sesha Katha'' portrays the

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

in the Indian society and ''Tunda Baida'' depicts the relation between a widow and her younger brother-in-law and rumors spread about them by villagers. While ''Haa Anna'' (1935) was set against the backdrop of Orissa famine of 1866, his 1946 published novel ''Shasti'' (Punishment) depicts famine's aftermath and pestilence during the years 1866 and 1870. Both the novels portrayed the romantic love stories with social and economical inequality. His

-winning novel ''Kaa'' (Impersonation, 1956) deals with the subject of female infertility and maternal death. In ''Kshana Kshanake Ana '' (The World Changes Every Moment, 1975) Mohanty narrates the story of step-mothers and domestic violence. He published fifty-six novels in a career spanning over six decades from 1930 to 1985 with ''Jaksha'' (1985) being his last published novel.

Legacy

Mohanty is considered "one of the most popular and celebrated novelists of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

". He is known for depicting social realism and most of his work involved problems associated with plight of woman, caste and economic exploitation. It was noted that he, being an upper caste writer, portrayed lower caste characters in his writings. His novels are set around coastal Odisha. Scholar

Sisir Kumar Das Sisir Kumar Das (1936–2003) was a linguist, poet, playwright, translator, comparatist and a prolific scholar of Indian literature. He is considered by many as the "doyen of Indian literary historiographers". Almost singlehandedly Das built ...

appreciated Mohanty's authentic illustration of regions compared to actual geographical location but noted that the author has tendency to create an Utopian world while representing the human life. ''Shasti'' (1946) is considered "one of the best progressive writings in Oriya" and "one of the earliest novels to use

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

to reveal different moods and emotions of its characters". Mohanty's work, in terms of its theme and writing style, is noted to be on the similar lines of another Odia novelist Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843–1918) with more critical social and cultural evaluation but lacking sense of humour and satire of Senapati. He said to have been influenced by '' The Woodlanders'' (1887) by Thomas Hardy for ''Shasti'' and by ''Pavilion of Women'' (1946) by

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...

for ''Kaa'' (Impersonation, 1956). In 2006, The

Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...

decided to republish three Odia novels, ''Kaa'' by Mohanty, ''Matira Manisha'' (1931) by

Kalindi Charan Panigrahi Kalindi Charan Panigrahi (2 July 1901 – 15 May 1991) was a noted Odia poet, novelist, story writer, dramatist, and essayist. He is famous for his magnum opus ''Matira Manisha''. He has been awarded Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Akademi award for ...

, and ''Mamu'' (1913) by Fakir Mohan Senapati to increase the popularity of Odia language among the youth. In January 2007, the

and Sarala Sahitya Sansad organised a two-day national seminar, "Kanhu Charan and the Rise of Indian Novel", to commemorate Mohanty's birth centenary. Odia novelist and a pioneer member of Sarala Sahitya Sansad, Pravakar Swain, noted that " ohanty'sbooks had a social commitment and sympathy for the insulted and the injured".

Artistic depiction of novels

Some of Mohanty's novels were later made into films. 1965 Odia film ''Abhinetri'' (The Actress) is based on his 1947 published novel by the same name and marked first occurrence of

Dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

, played by Jharna Das, in Odia cinema. Another novel ''Kaa'' (1956) was later made into a film '' Kaa'' (1965). The film was awarded the Certificate of Merit for the Best Feature Film in Odia at 14th National Film Awards. ''Tunda Baida'' (Gossip, 1944) was also made into a film in 1987 by the same name.

Awards

Mohanty won several awards for his literary work. He won the

in 1958 for ''Kaa'', the Jeevan Rang Prize in 1970, and the Neela Saila Award in 1992. On 4 February 1994, the

, India's National Academy of Letters, selected him as its

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, the highest honour conferred by the Akademi; however, Mohanty died on 6 April 1994 before the honour could formally be conferred upon him.

Bibliography

Mohanty published the following works under his name: ;1920–40 #''Utsabe Byasane'' (1923) #''Arana'' (1930) #''Patalaka'' (1930) #''Baliraja'' (1932) #''Nishpatti'' (1932) #''Swapnana Satya'' (1933) #''Duniara Dau'' (1934) #''Haa Anna'' (1935) #''Tathastu'' (1936) #''Parichaya'' (1936) #''Olatapalata'' (1937) #''Parakiya'' (1938) #''Udandi'' (1939) ;1941–60 #''Adekha Hata'' (1943) #''Pratiksha'' (1943) #''Bhala Paibara Sesha Katha'' (1944) #''Tunda Baida'' (1944) #''Eparisepari'' (1945) #''Shasti'' (1946) #''Banagahanara Jale'' (1947) #''Antaraya'' (1947) #''Abhinetri'' (1947) #''Bhuli Huena'' (1948) #''Jhanja'' (1950) #''Milanara Chhanda'' (1951) #''Sarbari'' (1952) #''Pari'' (1954) #''Kaa'' (1956) #''Bajrabahu'' (1959) ;1961–80 #''Dheudheuka'' (1962) #''Bagabaguli'' (1964) #''Itihasa'' (1967) #''Swapna'' (1968) #''Chhutileghata'' (1968) #''Jarangara Tale'' (1969) #''Mana Jane Papa'' (1969) #''Manamanthana'' (1970) #''Ati Gopaniya'' (1970) #''Angana'' (1971) #''Mamatara Maya'' (1971) #''Kahibaku Laja'' (1973) #''Nirbisanka'' (1973) #''Aji Nuhen Aau Dine'' (1973) #''Kshana Kshanake Ana'' (1975) #''Maya Bartta'' (1978) #''Satya Bati'' (1980) #''Kshanika'' (1980) #''Apa'' (1980) #''Namati Tara Champa'' (1980) ;1981–85 #''Taraka'' (1981) #''Tapasi'' (1982) #''Lalatalikhana'' (1983) #''Melani Maguni'' (1983) #''Pabani'' (1984) #''Jaksha'' (1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohanty, Kanhu Charan 1906 births 1994 deaths People from Cuttack district Ravenshaw University alumni Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Odia-language writers Odia novelists 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Odisha