Sitadevi Khadanga (1902–1983) was an
Odia dramatist, novelist, poet and translator from
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 ...
, India. Her writings mostly set in rural Odisha which depicts social problems of the area in the 20th-century. Her contribution to Odia poetry is considered to be a landmark in
Odia literature
Odia literature is literature written in the Odia language, mostly from the Indian state of Odisha. The modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences, along with loanwords from Des ...
.
Life
Khadanga was born in 1902 to an orthodox Brahmin family in
Asika
Asika or Aska is a town and a NAC in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Famously known as the Sugar city.
Geography
Asika is located at . It has an average elevation of 30 metres (98 feet). It is situated at a distance of ...
of
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 ...
. She received no formal education, but was home schooled by a visiting teacher. She was married to a school teacher named Banchhanidhi Khadanga of Gopalpur Sasan,
Surada
Surada (also known as Sorada or Soroda) is a town and a Notified Area Council in Ganjam district in the Indian state of Odisha.
Geography
Surada is located at . It has an average elevation of .
It is situated at the North-Western border of G ...
,
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 ...
.
She died in 1983.
Works
Khadanga wrote social dramas during the 1950s which were staged in various places in Ganjam. She established a theatre known as Harihar Natya Mandir, and a literary institute, Krishna Singh Sahitya Parishad, both in
Asika
Asika or Aska is a town and a NAC in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Famously known as the Sugar city.
Geography
Asika is located at . It has an average elevation of 30 metres (98 feet). It is situated at a distance of ...
.
After her marriage, she began reading plays, and perceived them as a superior literary form. After her children left home for higher education she started writing plays. Her first play was ''Sahodar'' (Brother), which was based on her life experiences. It has been described by her as "the story of a woman's life among her husband and children in a middle-class family".
Her other plays include ''Nari'' (Women), ''Poshyaputra'' (Adopted Son), ''Naisthika'' (An Orthodox), ''Prachin Panthi'' (Old-fashioned), ''Kshudhara Pida'' (The Pain of Hunger) and ''Matrihina'' (Motherless).
Her play ''Mandir Prabesh'' deals with the rights of
Harijan
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
(
Dalits
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for Untouchability, untouchables and Outcast (person), outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called ...
) to enter
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
temples.
Khadanga's first novel was an adoption of her own play ''Poshyaputra'', which is based on a variety of problems in society. ''Agraja'' (Elder Brother), containing 27 chapters, is a socio-political novel. ''Pratyabartan'' (Return; 1969) is based on rural life in Orissa.
''Mora Jeevan Smriti'' (Memories of My Life; 1978) is an autobiography.
She translated
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...
's ''
Ghare Baire'' from Bengali into Odia.
She also wrote poems which played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of Odisha. Her contribution to Odia poetry is considered to be a landmark in Odia literature.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khadanga, Sitadevi
1902 births
Writers from Odisha
20th-century Indian women writers
1983 deaths
Odia-language writers