'The Big Book of Odia Literature' book review
Offering a kaleidoscope of writing from the 15th century to the present, this book is a wonderful window into the concerns, thought, culture and philosophy that details Odia literary writing. The book is divided into many sections: Poetry, which is again sub divided into poems from different languages of the region including Santali, Sanskrit and Odia of course, and Plays, Short Stories, and Essays.
Of course the book features a plethora of writers and the translators who have made their work accessible for us in English. As Editor, Dash has been clever in his selection, picking writings of different flavours, and subjects that engage people at different levels. One imagines a lot of vernacular literature to stem from angst that cannot be articulated except in writing. But here is a platter of delights that range from the sombre to the funny, from the descriptive and poetic to sharply satirical.
The very first offering in the book, which begins with poetry is a deft translation by Dash himself of the 15th century poet, Sarla Dasa's Bhisma's counsel to Yudhisthira. ( Though sadly the title reads Bhima instead of Bhishma ). Much of the advice giving in pithy sentences of free verse, could hold good for those who rule countries and industry houses today.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Javed Akhtar receives Dostoevsky Star Award for cultural contribution
Veteran screenwriter, lyricist, and poet Javed Akhtar was honoured with the Dostoevsky Star Award by the Russian House on June 6 in Mumbai. The award is presented for his role in promoting cultural dialogue and preserving literary heritage. At 80, Akhtar reflected on the personal significance of receiving an award named after one of his early literary influences. 'Dostoevsky is one of the most respected novelists and journalists. In our Khandala house, we have his portrait on the door of our study,' he shared. 'I don't think any Indian writer has received the Dostoevsky Star Award before.' As part of the felicitation, a book of Akhtar's poems translated into Russian by Ramdas Akella was also released during the event. Akhtar, who grew up reading Russian literature in Urdu and English translation, credited writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, and Maxim Gorky for shaping his narrative sensibilities. He highlighted the long-standing mutual admiration between Indian and Russian literary traditions, noting how both cultures have influenced each other through translated works. Akhtar's wife, actor Shabana Azmi, took to social media to share the moment. Posting a photo of the ceremony, she wrote, 'Another big honour for Javed Akhtar as he received the Dostoevsky Star Award! This year, the Russian House is deeply honoured to award the renowned poet, lyricist and public intellectual Mr Javed Akhtar.' Known for his iconic contributions to Indian cinema, Akhtar co-wrote classics such as Zanjeer, Sholay, Mashaal, and Lakshya, and has also been recognised for his lyrical work in countless Hindi films. Over the years, he has received five National Film Awards for Best Lyrics, the Padma Shri in 1999, the Padma Bhushan in 2007, and the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his poetry collection Lava. In 2020, he became the first Indian to receive the Richard Dawkins Award for his commitment to rationalism and critical thought.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Sonali Bendre finally breaks silence over reports of dating Raj Thackeray 20 years ago, says, 'Relationship is...'
Sonali Bendre finally breaks silence over reports of dating Raj Thackeray 20 years ago, says, 'Relationship is...' Sonali Bendre, who captivated audiences with her admirable beauty and acting chops in 90s, has finally broke silence on her link-up rumours with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. The online chatter started when an old video of the two went viral, which led to the speculations that Raj Thackeray was allegedly having crush on her 20 years ago. Reacting to the buzz in an interview with ANI, Bendre said, 'Did he… I doubt it,' Firmly denying the rumours she clarified, 'I was talking to my sister who was right there.' Addressing the gossip, The Hum Hum Saath Saath Hai actress added, 'I don't know. I mean, a lot of people… I think it's just not in very good taste when people talk about it like that. First of all, I mean, there are families involved and people involved in all of that.' Explaining the decade-old association she had with his family, Sonali said, 'Other than the fact that my brother-in-law and my sister… my brother-in-law who's a cricketer and hence used to play cricket with Raj's cousin… Sister's husband and they always played together. Secondly, my sister's mother-in-law was the head of the department that taught us English literature in the (Ramnarain) Ruia College, which I'm from.' She further revealed a personal family bond, stating, '…so they all knew each other. For me, the connection was that Sharmila, Raj's wife, her mother, and my Maasi were best friends. Her mother has held me for 10 days because you know how, oh, her, my mother's younger sister, Maasi. So when she delivered Raj, they all came laughing. Oh, her elder sister's baby. Let's go and see the baby. They've come to the hospital and seen me. So literally, that's the kind of connection.' Sonali further added, 'I've always travelled around… It's not something that I know them beyond a point because I came into Maharashtra only once in two years during summer holidays or something like that.' When asked whether she's interested in joining politics, the Sarfarosh actress firmly denied and said, 'No, not really. I think you need a lot of very thick skin for it, which I don't have… and I'm not politically correct… unfortunately.' Meanwhile, Sonali Bendre has been a part of several hit movies including, Major Saab, Sarfarosh, Duplicate, Zakhm, Chori Chori, and Hum Saath Saath Hain, among others. She was last seen in the second season of the ZEE5 series The Broken News.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Who is the postman?
One of the most enduring puzzles from the English pioneer Henry Ernest Dudeney (1857-1930) involves six persons sharing three names. That is to say, two persons each share the same name. Clues are given about their profession, address etc, and the solver tries to establish the identity of one or more of the individuals. Later generations of puzzlers have used Dudeney's template to create newer logic puzzles in the same mould. Here in Problematics, I have taken inspiration from several other Dudeney puzzles, but this is my first attempt at using his 6-persons-with-3-names template. Puzzle #146.1 Some names are gender-neutral; they can be given to either boys or girls. Therefore, meet three men called Gagan, Kiran and Suman and three women called (you guessed it) Gagan, Kiran and Suman. They happen to be three married couples, but we are not given the full details of which one is whose spouse. The men are salaried individuals: a paramedic at a hospital, a plumber engaged by a housing society, and a postman in government service. Among the women, one is a painter, one a poet, and one a playwright. The three couples live on the same street. The female Gagan and her paramedic husband live at the north end of the street, and the female Kiran and her plumber husband at the south end. The plumber's best friend, incidentally, is the male Suman. The female Suman, meanwhile, lives in the middle of the street with her postman husband. Although a career in the arts does not bring a fixed income, one can earn a windfall from a single painting exhibition, a successful book of poems, or one hit play. The female Suman, for example, had a very good year, earning three times as much as her husband. The woman with the same name as the paramedic, meanwhile, earned ₹10 lakh for the year. To prevent any misdirection, the year's total income for each of the six individuals was an exact multiple of ₹1 lakh. Puzzle #146.2 SCAN OF CAIRNS (2 words) SONIA AND LIPI (1 word) A MAN'S ACTION (2 words) SO, I'M IN NEPAL (1 word) LONG LEASES (2 words) LANE OWNERS (2 words) Unscramble the above anagrams to get the names of six cities, all in the same country. MAILBOX: LAST WEEK'S SOLVERS #Puzzle 145.1 Dear Mr Kabir, Let the number of duck eggs = N, which means the number of chicken eggs = (100 – N). On the first day, both sets fetch the same price, i.e. (N) (price of a duck egg) = (100 – N) (price of a chicken egg) On the second day, after the baskets are interchanged unintentionally, the given facts can be represented as follows: Price of a duck egg on the second day = 280/N = price of a chicken egg on the first day; Price of a chicken egg on the second day = 630/(100 –N) = price of a duck egg on the first day Substituting these values in the first day's equation, we get (N)[630)/(100 – N)] = (100 – N)[280/N] => 630N² = 280(100 – N)² => 70 x 9N² = 70 x 4(100 – N)² => [3N]² = [2(100 – N])² Taking the positive square roots of both sides, 3N = 2(100 – N) => N = 40. Thus the number of duck eggs is 40, and the number of chicken eggs is 100 – 40 = 60. This gives the first-day price of a duck egg (= second-day price of a chicken egg) as 630/60 = ₹10.50, and the first-day price of a chicken egg (= second-day price of a duck egg) as 280/40 = ₹7. Sale on day #1 = (40 x 10.50) + (60 x 7) = ₹840; and sale on day #2 = 280 + 630 = ₹910. Thus Father should be happier on Day #2. — Shri Ram Aggarwal, New Delhi #Puzzle 145.2 Hello, In the puzzle with playing cards, start by placing the 4s. There are only two options: 4 __ __ __ __ 4 __ __ __ 4 __ __ __ __ 4 __ 4 A 3 A 2 4 3 2 — Biren Parmar, Bay Area, California *** Position: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cards: 4 A 3 A 2 4 3 2 Mirror solution Cards: 2 3 4 2 A 3 A 4 — Vinod Mahajan, New Delhi Solved both puzzles: Shri Ram Aggarwal (Delhi), Biren Parmar (Bay Area, California), Vinod Mahajan (Delhi), Abhinav Mital (Singapore), Anil Khanna (Ghaziabad), Dr Sunita Gupta (Delhi), Kanwarjit Singh (Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, retired), Shishir Gupta (Indore). Yadvendra Somra (Sonipat), Professor Anshul Kumar (Delhi), Sabornee Jana (Mumbai), Ajay Ashok (Delhi), Sampath Kumar V (Coimbatore), Nitin A note on #143.1: Two weeks ago, the list of correct solvers for an Einstein puzzle (#143.1) had omitted the name of Vinod Mahajan. He has since explained the way he interpreted some of the clues, and I have subsequently accepted his answer as correct. In future, I will try and make sure that every clue in an Einstein puzzle is worded in a way that there is no possibility of ambiguity in interpreting it.
