Devdas Chhotray is an Indian Odia author, administrator and academician. He was the first vice-chancellor of

Ravenshaw University Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The u ...

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 literall ...

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 Sc ...

. His work consists of poetry, short stories, lyrics, musicals and screenplays. Chhotray's father Gopal Chhotray, a recipient of Padma, Central

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 ...

and

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognit ...

, was an architect of modern Odia theatre.

Early life, Education & Career

Chhotray was educated at Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University) and Cornell University. After joining the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the India ...

in 1971, he worked in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and New Delhi. In 2006 Chhotray became the first vice-chancellor of Ravenshaw University, obtained UGC approval for the school in six months. Chhotray was director of the Orissa Film Development Corporation from 1983–89 and 1996–98, chairman of the publications committee for the fifth International Children’s Film Festival in 1987 and was vice-president of the governing council of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune from 1999–2001.

Lyrics credit

* Boura Hatabaksa * Pahili Raja *

Nandini I Love U ''Nandini I Love U'' is a 2008 Indian Oriya film directed by Ashok Pati. It is the first venture of Producer Anama Charana Sahoo, under the banner of Laxmi Puja Pvt. Ltd. Siddhanta Mahapatra and Buddhaditya Mohanty are playing the male lead c ...

* Laxmi Pratima * Puja Pain Phulatie * Tu Eka Aama Saha Bharasa * To Akhi Mo Aina * Paradesi Babu * Kapala Likhana * Suna Chadhei * Chaka Aakhi Sabu Dekhuchi * Chaka Bhaunri * Sapana Banika * Sahari Bagha * Jaga Hatare Pagha * Hira Nila

Books, Writings

He has written a collection of stories, ''Lal Machha'' (''Red Fish''), the lyrics for more than 75 films in Oriya and television musicals. Chhotray is known for his collaboration with

Akshaya Mohanty Akshaya Mohanty, also known as ''Khoka Bhai'', was an Indian singer, lyricist, composer, musician and writer in Odia. He has contributed Odia bhajans, Odissi songs, folk songs, film and non-film modern light songs in Odisha on contemporary ...

, a pioneer in modern Oriya music from the 1960s until his death in 2002, as Mohanty's principal songwriter. He has written screenplays for feature films in Oriya. One, ''

Indradhanura Chhai ''Indradhanura Chhai'' is a 1993 Indian Oriya film directed by Susant Misra. This film reflects the traditional structures of social and family life of a small town in India are growing strongly affected by the progressive urbanization of ...

'' (''Shadows of the Rainbow'') was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. In addition to Chhotray's anthologies of poems and stories in Oriya, notably ''Nila Saraswati'' (''Blue Muse'') and ''Hati Saja Kara'' (''Order the Elephants''), English translations of his poems have appeared in ''Longing'' (published by Pimlico Books in London). An anthology of his poems in Hindi, ''Ret Ki Sidhi'' (''A Staircase of Sand'') has been published in Delhi.

Awards

Chhotray's four decades of poetry and lyrics have been translated into

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n and foreign languages, and he has been published in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

(in the Sunil Gangopadhyaya-edited ''Krittibas''. He has received the Prajatantra Bisuv Milan and Utkal Samaj Centenary (Gangadhar Meher Samman) Awards and the 2008 Rajdhani Book Fair Award 2008 for poetry. * Odisha Excellence Award 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chhotray, Devdas 1955 births Living people Writers from Odisha