Basanta Kumari Patnaik (15 December 1923 – 29 March 2013) was an Odia language novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet and essayist; considered to be one of the pioneers in Odia literature. She became famous for her three novels: ''Amada Bata'' ( The Untroddden Path), ''Chorabali'' and ''Alibha Chita'', among which ''Amada Bata'' has been adapted into an Odia film by same name.

Biography

Basanta Kumari was born on 15 December 1923 in Bhanjanagar, a town in

Ganjam district Ganjam is a district in the Indian state of Odisha. Ganjam's total area is 8,206 km² (3,168 mi²). The district headquarters is Chhatrapur. Ganjam is divided into three sub-divisions: Chhatrapur, Berhampur, and Bhanjanagar. As of ...

of state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

in a Karan family. She spent most of her life in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

city. She completed her MA in economics from Ravenshaw College,

. Along with her brother, Rajkishore Patnaik, she founded a publishing company known as Shanti Nibas Bani Mandira, which was active from 1959 to 1962. She died on 29 March 2013.

Works

Basanta Kumari is considered to be one of the pioneers in Odia literature. In 1950, Basanta Kumari published her first novel, ''Amada Bata'' ( The Untroddden Path), which was well received by readers. It was followed by ''Chorabali'' (1973), ''Alibha Chita'' and other four novels. ''Sabhyatara Saja'' (1950; The Veneer of Civilization) and ''Patala Dheu'' (1952) and ''Jivanchinha'' (1959) are her short story collections. She published two poetry collections: ''Chintanala'' (1956) and ''Taranga''; and two plays: ''Jaura Bhatta'' (1952) and ''Mruga Trushna'' (1956). Her novel ''Amada Bata'', considered to be her

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, was adapted into an Odia film by the same name. It tells a story of the middle-class family of Cuttack and its attempts to get their daughter married. ''Amada Bata'' is noted for its realistic portrayal of women's characters. Her writings reflects the domestic and social life of 20th-century Odisha. She co-translated, with her sister Hemanta Kumari Nanda, a philosophical work of

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti ( ; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was an Indian Philosophy, philosopher, speaker, writer, and Spirituality, spiritual figure. Adopted by members of the Theosophy, Theosophical tradition as a child, he was raised to fill ...

Recognition

The Odia Sahitya Akademi awarded her Atibadi Jagannath Das award. She is the first and only Odia woman writer to have received Atibadi Jagannath Das award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patnaik, Basanta Kumari 1923 births 2013 deaths Writers from Odisha Recipients of the Atibadi Jagannath Das Award 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian short story writers