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    Gangadhar Meher

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    Amrit
    Gangadhar Meher was a renowned 19th century Odia poet from Odisha, India. Though poor in wealth and education, he made significant and original contributions to Odia literature. Some of his notable works include Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, and Padmini. He worked as a judicial accountant and advocated for social reforms for the weaver community. Several institutions in Odisha are named in his honor for his contributions to Odia literature and culture.

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    Gangadhar Meher

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    Amrit
    200 views5 pages
    Gangadhar Meher was a renowned 19th century Odia poet from Odisha, India. Though poor in wealth and education, he made significant and original contributions to Odia literature. Some of his notable works include Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, and Padmini. He worked as a judicial accountant and advocated for social reforms for the weaver community. Several institutions in Odisha are named in his honor for his contributions to Odia literature and culture.

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    Gangadhar Meher

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    Gangadhar Meher was a renowned 19th century Odia poet from Odisha, India. Though poor in wealth and education, he made significant and original contributions to Odia literature. Some of his notable works include Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, and Padmini. He worked as a judicial accountant and advocated for social reforms for the weaver community. Several institutions in Odisha are named in his honor for his contributions to Odia literature and culture.

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    200 views5 pages

    Gangadhar Meher

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    Amrit
    Gangadhar Meher was a renowned 19th century Odia poet from Odisha, India. Though poor in wealth and education, he made significant and original contributions to Odia literature. Some of his notable works include Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, and Padmini. He worked as a judicial accountant and advocated for social reforms for the weaver community. Several institutions in Odisha are named in his honor for his contributions to Odia literature and culture.

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    Gangadhar Meher

    Swabhaba kabi Gangadhar Meher (Odia: ସ୍ୱଭାବକବି ଗଙ୍ଗାଧର ମେହେର) was a renowned Odia poet of
    the 19th century. Though poor in wealth and education, he remained one of the most prolific and
    original contributor to Odia literature.[1]
    Swabhaba Kabi

    Gangadhara Meher

    Swabhaba Kabi Gangadhara Meher

    Born 9 August 1862(On the full moon day of Sravana


    Purnima)

    Barpali, Bargarh, Odisha, India

    Died 4 April 1924 (aged 61)

    Nationality Indian

    Education Std V

    Occupation Judicial Moharir (Accountant)

    Notable work Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, Balarama-deba,


    Pranaya Ballari, Kichaka Badha, Indumati (First
    Published work), Ayodhya Drusya, Padmini (Last
    work); genre (Poet)

    Spouse(s) Shanta Devi, Champa Devi (After the death of


    Shanta Devi)

    Children Arjuna Meher (died at the age of 12), Bhagaban


    Meher (Famous as Kabi-Putra), Basumati Meher,
    Lakhmi Meher
    Parents Chaitanya Meher (father)

    Sevati Devi (mother)

    Website www.gangadharmeher.org (https://web.archive.or


    g/web/20100511190402/http://gangadharmeher.
    org/html/index.asp)

    Childhood

    Gangadhara was born in 1862 on the full moon day of Shravana Purnima at Barpali of present-
    day Bargarh district of Odisha. Chaitanya Meher was working as a village Vaidya (Ayurvedic
    doctor) besides his family profession of weaving. But as he could not maintain his family with
    the income of these works, he opened a village school and began to teach a few children.
    Gangadhara Meher could read up to the Middle Vernacular Standard hurdling over diverse
    disadvantages, and his keen eagerness for literature eventually sparked his skills in writing
    poems.[1]

    As a young boy, he heard the Jagamohana Ramayana composed by Balarama Dasa and
    afterwards he himself read it as well as the Odia Mahabharata by Sarala Dasa. He also read and
    mastered a great number of Sanskrit books; of which ‘Raghuvamsham’, deserve mention. Tulasi
    Ramayana in Awadhi used to be held by him in great respect. He used to read Bengali
    magazines and newspapers.[1]

    Gangadhara got married at the age of 10. As his father’s pecuniary condition was not
    satisfactory, Gangadhar used to go to school in the morning and help his father in weaving in the
    afternoon. His clear and beautiful hand writing also garnered attention from many people willing
    to get their transcribed by him. The pecuniary condition of the family improved a bit due to his
    hard labour when to the misfortune of the family, the ancestral house caught fire.

    Career

    The then Zamindar of Barpali, Lal Nruparaj Singh offered him the post of an Amin (Patwari).
    Coming to learn of amicable behaviours and good virtues of Gangadhara, the Zamindar
    promoted him to the post of a Moharir. He continued to serve in the said post and was
    transferred to Sambalpur, Bijepur and Padmapur and at last transferred to him own native place
    Barapali on a salary of Rs.30/- per month.
    The poet was very liberal and progressive socially. During the last age of his life, the poet
    organized an All Odisha Social Conference of Mehers with a view to uplifting the entire weaver
    society. Nearly three thousand Mehers from different parts of Odisha assembled in the
    Conference. The poet put up twelve proposals for the reform of the society and all were passed
    unanimously.

    Literary career

    Gangadhara started composing poems from a very tender age. His first writings follow the style
    and technique of the ancient Odia writers. His first kabya (poetic work) was “Rasa-Ratnakara”.
    Then being persuaded by some friends he changed his ways and wrote poems and kabyas in the
    modern Odia style. Kabibara Radhanatha Ray praised his writing very much. The works produced
    by Gangadhara Meher are marked by vivid imagination, in beauty and clarity of language, in the
    novelty of style, in point of forceful character painting and in the lively description of nature from
    different perspectives. His writings remain as some of greatest creations in Odia
    literature.[1][2][3].His literary career was frequently influenced by the writings of Radhanath Rai,
    who wrote in western influences. A research was conducted in North orissa University which
    reveals many similarities between Gangadhar Meher and western romantic poets like P.B
    Shelley, Lord Byron, John Keats.The treatment of nature is equally same in their poetries.

    Institution and award named after Gangadhar Meher

    In 1949, Sambalpur College which is in Sambalpur district, opened in 1944 was renamed
    Gangadhar Meher College in his honour later upgraded to a university, now it is known by
    Gangadhar Meher University. In 2015, this college was upgraded to a university.[4] Sambalpur
    University, Burla, instituted the Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry which is conferred
    annually on the foundation day of Sambalpur University. In January 2020 the Gangadhar Meher
    National award will be conferred to Viswanath Prasad Tiwari.[5]

    References

    1. Orissa Society of Americas 27th Annual Convention Souvenir: For Annual Convention Held in 1996 at
    Washington, D.C. (https://books.google.com/books?id=ox6BDwAAQBAJ&q=gangadhar+meher&pg=PA
    86) Odisha Society of the Americas.
    2. Gokhale, Namita (15 October 2009). In Search Of Sita: Revisiting Mythology (https://books.google.com/b
    ooks?id=YTknAgAAQBAJ&q=gangadhar+meher&pg=PT220) . Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-5118-420-1.

    3. Mehera, Gaçngåadhara; Mahapatra, Jayanta (1998). Tapaswini: A Poem (https://books.google.com/book


    s?id=SZpjAAAAMAAJ&q=gangadhar+meher) . Orissa Sahitya Akademi.

    4. "Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST" (https://www.orissapost.com/) . Odisha
    News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST. Retrieved 13 December 2019.

    5. "Poet Viswanath Prasad Tiwari to get Gangadhar National Award" (https://www.business-standard.com/a


    rticle/pti-stories/poet-viswanath-prasad-tiwari-to-get-gangadhar-national-award-
    119120900180_1.html) . Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 December 2019. Retrieved
    13 December 2019.

    Retrieved from
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
    title=Gangadhar_Meher&oldid=1044822343"


    Last edited 1 month ago by Nishānt Omm

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