Gopinath Mohanty

Gopinath Mohanty (1914–1991), winner of the Jnanpith award, and the first winner of the
National Sahitya Akademi Award in 1955 – for his novel, Amrutara Santana – was a prolific Odia
writer of the mid-twentieth century. Satya Prakash Mohanty, professor of English, Cornell
University says: "In my opinion, Gopinath Mohanty is the most important Indian novelist in the
second half of the twentieth century."[1]

Gopinath Mohanty with wife

Adaramani in 1960s
Career Gopinath
Mohanty
Mohanty joined the Odisha Administrative
Service in 1938 and retired in 1969. He was
invited by Professor Prabhat Nalini Das, then
head of the English department at Utkal
University as University Grants Commission,
UGC Distinguished Visiting Professor and
writer-in-residence for two years at the English
department, Utkal University, in the late 1970s.

In 1986, he joined San Jose State University in

the United States as an adjunct professor of
Social Sciences. He died at San Jose,
California on 20 August 1991.[2]
Gopinath Mohanty
Novels at Home in
Bhubaneswar in 80s
Gopinath's first novel, Mana Gahirara Chasa,
was published in 1940, which was followed by Born 20 April
Dadi Budha (1944), Paraja (1945) and
Amrutara Santana (1947). His literary output 1914
was prolific. He wrote twenty-four novels, ten
collections of short stories, three plays, two Nagabali,
biographies, two volumes of critical essays,
and five books on the languages of the Cuttack
Kandha, Gadaba and Saora tribes of Odisha.
He translated Tolstoy's War and Peace (Yuddh
O Shanti), in three volumes, 1985–86), and
Rabindranath Tagore's Jogajog, (1965), into
Odia.[3] Died 20
Dadi Budha (The Ancestor) (1944) is his first
novel on the tribal community and it offers a
August
realistic portrait of life and tradition of the
tribal people of the mountainous region
1991
surrounded by thick forest. It is a seminal
novel in Tribal Literature and corresponds to
(aged 77)
Chinua Achebe's classic tale of Colonial
invasion of tribal culture Things fall Apart and
San
foregrounds almost the same theme – the
impact of modernity and disintegration of
Jose,
tribal society.[4]
California
Paraja (1945) is a moving narrative based on
the life of a tribal community. It is the tale of
one's attachment to land, the soil of one's
Nationality Indian
ancestors. Sitakant Mahapatra describes the
novel as "the story of shattered dreams".[5] Education M.A.
The novel also implicitly portrays the impact
of colonial rule on Odia tribals.
Alma mater Ravensh
Amrutara Santana (1949), the first novel to
receive the Central Sahitya Akademi Award College
(1955), is centered round the life of the
Kandhas, another tribe in the southern parts of
[6]
Patna
Odisha.

Universit
Short stories Occupation(s) Admin
UGC
In the post-Independence era Odia fiction
assumed a new direction. The trend which disting
Fakir Mohan Senapati had started developed
after the 1950s. Gopinath Mohanty, Surendra
Mohanty and Manoj Das are considered the visitin
three literary jewels of this period. They were
pioneers of a new trend, namely, that of profes
developing or projecting the "individual as
protagonist" in Odia fiction. Another of Utkal
Gopinath's stories, 'Pimpudi' has had great
influence. It is the story of a forest officer Univer
checking rice smuggling to Madras.[7][8]

Awards Jnanpith
English Award

translations Padma
Bhushan
Five of Gopinath's novels, along with a number
of short stories, have been translated into
English. It is extremely difficult to render in English the nuances of Gopinath Mohanty's
language. However, translators have attempted to convey the richness and complexity of the
original texts to readers unfamiliar with Odia.
English Translations of Gopinath Novels

Publication
Title English Title Translator(s) Publisher(s)
Date

Danapani The Survivor Bikram K. Das Macmillan India Limited 1985

Faber and Faber (UK)

Paraja n/a Bikram K. Das and Oxford University 1987
Press (India)

Dadi Budha The Ancestor Aruṇa Kumāra Mahānti Sahitya Akademi 1997

High Tide, Ebb

Laya Bilaya Bikram K. Das Lark Books 1999
Tide

Bidhu Bhusan Das,

Amrutara The Dynasty of
Prabhat Nalini Das, and Sahitya Akademi 2016
Santana the Immortals
Oopali Operajita

Awards
Mohanty received the Visuva Milan citation in 1950. He won the first central Sahitya Akademi
Award in 1955 for his novel, Amrutara Santana.. It was the first Sahitya Akademi Award ever
given to a creative literary work in any language or any genre. The Jnanpith Award was conferred
on him in 1973 for his epic Mati Matala (The Fertile Soil).[9] He was awarded the Soviet Land
Nehru Award in 1970, for his Odia Translation of Gorky's work, a D.Litt. by Sambalpur University
in 1976 and a distinguished visiting professorship for creative writing by the U.G.C. at the
Department of English, Utkal University in 1976. In 1981, the government of India conferred the
Padma Bhushan on him in recognition of his distinguished contribution to literature. He was an
Emeritus Fellow of the Government of India for creative writing.
Bibliography

Mohanty, Gopinath (1963).

Ranadhandola; galpa sangraha (in Odia).
Bikasa pratishthana. OCLC 46465771 (h
ttps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4646577
1) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1963). Tantrikara :
upanyasa (in Odia). Bikasa Pratishthana.
OCLC 31273912 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/31273912) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1964). Matimatala
(in Odia). Aloka Sahitya Pratishthana.
OCLC 19361991 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/19361991) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1965). Amrutara
santana (in Odia). Jagannatha Ratha.
OCLC 19363005 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/19363005) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1967). Harijana (in
Odia). Jagannatha ratha.
OCLC 30996252 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/30996252) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1967). Gupta Ganga
(in Odia). Jagannath Ratha.
OCLC 30990581 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/30990581) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1968). Nam mane
nahim (in Odia). OCLC 30883679 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30883679) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1971). Danapani (in
Odia). Kataka shtudents shtora.
OCLC 46465738 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/46465738) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1971). Managahirara
casha (in Odia). Shtudentas Shtora.
OCLC 18470514 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/18470514) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1971). Udanta khai
(in Odia). Kataka shtudents shtora.
OCLC 46465824 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/46465824) .
Mohanty, Gopi Nath (1973). Kala-sakti
(in Odia). Agraduta. OCLC 19361604 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1936160
4) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1979). Digadihudi :
upanyasa (in Odia). Bidyapuri.
OCLC 8051826 (https://www.worldcat.o
rg/oclc/8051826) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1979). Manara niam
(in Odia). Mayura Pablikesansa.
OCLC 8669195 (https://www.worldcat.o
rg/oclc/8669195) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1980). Analanala (in
Odia). Odisa Lekhaka Samabaya Samiti.
OCLC 17879923 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/17879923) .
Mohanty, Gopinatha (1983). Paraja (in
Odia). Bidyapuri. OCLC 499123865 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49912386
5) .
Mohanty, Gopinatha (1985). Laya bilaya
(in Odia). Bidyapuri. OCLC 499128654 (h
ttps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49912865
4) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1985). Dhulimatira
santha (in Odia). Bidyapuri.
OCLC 16804828 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/16804828) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1988). Bundae pani
(in Odia). Bidyapuri. OCLC 21598837 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2159883
7) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1989). Sata pañca
(in Odia). Odisa Buk Shtora.
OCLC 22006434 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/22006434) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1989). Kichi
kahibaku chahem : upanyasa (in Odia).
Phrendas Pablisarsa. OCLC 22006052
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/220060
52) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1991). Yuddha (in
Odia). Phrendas Pablisarsa.
OCLC 28723943 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/28723943) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1991). Mahapurusha
(in Odia). Phrendas Pablisarsa.
OCLC 27938222 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/27938222) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1992). Srotasvati :
atmajibani (in Odia). Bidyapuri.
OCLC 30512277 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/30512277) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1992). Sarasayya (in
Odia). Phrendas Pablisarsa.
OCLC 28293188 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/28293188) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1993). Tinikala (in
Odia). Phrends Pablisarsa.
OCLC 30513367 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/30513367) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1993). Anama :
upanyasa (in Odia). Phrends Pablisarsa.
OCLC 30512765 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/30512765) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (1995). Baghei (in
Odia). Phrends Pablisarsa.
OCLC 33970292 (https://www.worldcat.
org/oclc/33970292) .
Mohanty, Gopinath (2012). Dipam jyoti :
pujya Gopabandhu Caudhurinka jibani (in
Odia). Vidyapuri. ISBN 978-81-7411-853-
0. OCLC 805702022 (https://www.world
cat.org/oclc/805702022) .
See also

List of Indian writers

List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners
for Odia
Kanhu Charan Mohanty

References

1. Amrutara Santana: The Dynasty of The

Immortals by Gopinath Mohanty (2015).
Translated by Bidhu Bhusan Das, Prabhat
Nalini Das and Oopali Operajita. Sahitya
Akademi, New Delhi. Back cover quote.
ISBN 978-81-260-4746-8
2. "Gopinath Mohanty Memorial Lecture
today" (https://www.newindianexpress.co
m/states/odisha/2019/apr/20/gopinath-m
ohanty-memorial-lecture-today-1966706.ht
ml) . The New Indian Express. 20 April
2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.

3. Mahapatra, Sitakant (4 April 2015). "Delving

into creative depths" (https://www.thehind
u.com/books/books-reviews/delving-into-cr
eative-depths/article7067913.ece) . The
Hindu. Retrieved 21 April 2020.

4. Senapati, Soumyakanta. "The Disintegration

of Tribal Life – A Study of Gopinath
Mohanty's The Ancestor". Rock Pebbles.
XXIV (III): 70–75.

5. Mahapatra, S. (1992). Reaching the Other

Shore: The World of Gopinath Mohanty's
 Fiction (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=RMsvAAAAMAAJ) . New world literature
series. B.R. Publishing Corporation. pp. 32–
33. ISBN 978-81-7018-746-2. Retrieved
21 April 2020.

6. Thakur, Tyagraj (8 June 2019). " 'Basanti': A

classic but experimental Odia novel from
the 1920s is reinvented in English
translation" (https://scroll.in/article/92617
8/basanti-a-classic-but-experimental-odia-n
ovel-from-the-1920s-is-reinvented-in-english
-translation) . Scroll.in. Retrieved 21 April
2020.

7. Istahar-92, (26th Volume, 2nd Issue)

8. Mohanty, J.M. (1989). Into Another
Intensity: Essays on Oriya Literature (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=NgswAAA
 AMAAJ) . Post-Graduate Department of
English, Utkal University. p. 8. Retrieved
21 April 2020. "The story Pimpudi for
example , where a young officer goes to the
mountainous southern border of Orissa to
check rice - smuggling in a tribal market ,
explores the depth of individual
consciousness in a vision of vast expanse."

9. "Jnanpith Laureates Official listings" (http

s://web.archive.org/web/2016071400482
0/http://jnanpith.net/page/jnanpith-laureate
s) . Jnanpith Website. Archived from the
original (http://www.jnanpith.net/page/jnan
pith-laureates) on 14 July 2016. Retrieved
14 March 2013.
Further reading

George, K. M., ed. (1992). Modern Indian

Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and
poems (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA302) .
Vol. 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 302.
ISBN 978-8-17201-324-0.

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