English Translation Of Odisha’s Jnanpith Award Winner, Gopinath Mohanty’s ‘Utkalmani’ Released

Bhubaneswar: The English translation of Gopinath Mohanty’s Utkalmani was released at a function in the Odisha capital. The function was chaired by Pradosh Kumar Mohanty, former Income Tax Chief Commissioner.

The translator Aditya Nayak described the book as the first work of oral history in Odia literature. He added that based on the reminiscences of Ramachandra Barik, the loyal personal attendant of Pundit Gopabandhu Das, the book brings vividly to life the great freedom fighter and visionary. He read out a brief extract to give the audience a feel of the texture of this moving narrative.

Prof Basant Panda, Director, Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Odi emphasised the need to introduce Gopabandhu Das’s thoughts and ideas to a wider reading public outside Odisha through translations of his prose works in English. Dr Sangram Jena, Vice-President, Odisha Sahitya Akademi,dwelled on Gopabandhu Das’s special relationship with Mahatma Gandhi and his role as a passionate institution builder.

Dr Aurobindo Behera, retd. IAS officer, columnist and translator, described Gopabandhu Das’s personality as magnetic and showed how he transformed the lives of those who came in contact with him.

Among others who attended the event included Prof. Omkar Mohanty, Dr Nivedita Mohanty, Shikha Vats, Lipika Das. Debamitra Mishra, Jugabhanu Singh Deo, Dr Asit Mohanty, Dr Jahan Ara Begum, Prof. Namita Mohanty, Kapilash Bhuinya, Prof. Madhusmita Pati, Prof. Shipra Gupta, Shiba Prasad Swain, Jagdish Mohanty, Prof. Asim Parhi and Dilip Bisoi.