Gopal Krushna Rath (1945 – 2016) was an Indian

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

poet. He won Sahitya Akademi award for

literature in 2014 for his poetry collection ''Bipula Diganta''.

Life

Rath was born in Sambalpur, on 3 August 1945. He grew up in Sambalpur town and studied to become a law professional. He started his career as a judge; however he changed his career to academics. He retired as a Professor in Law from

Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is located in Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The governor of Odisha is the chancellor of t ...

. He was a former Chairman of the PG Council of Sambalpur University. He was also member of Sahitya Akademi advisory board He was married to Dr Kiranbala Rath, an academician, author and an orator. They had four children but lost three of them. Rath renounced material world and became a sanyasi in 2014. He was also known as Srimat Swami Gururupananda Saraswati Maharaj. Along with Gopal Krushna, his wife also took to Sanyas and is known as Maa Kalyanmayee Saraswati. Rath died in Pune on 30 December 2016.

Works

Rath started writing poems when he was in high school. He published poems in most Odia magazines. Rath won Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry collection "Bipula Diganta". He authored six anthologies of poems:http://airworldservice.org/english/archives/7719 - Interview with All India Radio World Service * Ekla Manisha (Friends Publishers,1980) * Kete dura (1990), * Kuni Pua O Nishpaapa Sakaala (2000) * Bipula Diganta (Lark Books, 2010), * Bihwala Belabhoomi (Pakshighara Publications, 2013) * Aruna Udbhaasa (Pakshighara Publications, 2016)

Awards

* Sahitya Akademi 2014 * Odisha Sahitya Akademi 2003 * Jhankar Poetry Award 1984 * SAHITYA PRUTHVI SAMMAN 2012 * BALDEV SAHITYA SANSAD SAMMAN 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Gopal Odia-language poets 20th-century Indian poets 1945 births 2016 deaths Odia-language writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Writers from Odisha Poets from Odisha Sambalpur University alumni