Great Granddaughter Pens Book On Fakir Mohan Senapati

Bhubaneswar: Monica Das, the great granddaughter of Vyasa Kavi Fakir Mohan Senapati, recently presented her book on him, titled ‘Memoirs And More Of An Insider’, to Governor Ganeshi Lal at Raj Bhawan here.

Jatindra Kumar Nayak, former Professor of English Literature, has written in his foreword to the book, “When we think of great writers, we tend to see them as loftily elevated above the constraints and concerns of everyday life. It appears as if their magnificent achievements imprison them in a kind of grand isolation and the focus on their works gradually shifts attention away from the prosaic details of the lived reality from which they emerge. As a result, great writers turn into towering monuments – inaccessible, awe-inspiring, but cold and lifeless. Biographies and memoirs are useful ways of reminding us that they were intensely human and seek to restore to them their essential humanity.” 

The English original of the book was first launched  at CSD, India International Centre, New Delhi a few months ago, in the presence of former justice Supreme Court Ananga Patnaik, former ambassador to USA, Lalit Mansingh, Gokul Patnaik (retd IAS), eminent Prof Delhi university, Manoranjan Mohanty. 

The book, published by Author’s press, is available on Amazon. 

The Odia translation of the book has been done by Prof Rabindra Das, Professor at Viswa Bharati University, Santineketan. 

Delhi resident Das, was formerly Associate Professor of Economics at Gargi College, Delhi University (DU) and Fellow at Developing Countries Research Centre, DU. She has been working relentlessly over the years to put Fakir Mohan Senapati and his work on the national and international map. Her first book, ‘Her Story So Far: Tales of Girl Child in India,’  was published by Penguin Books India and the second, ‘The Other Woman’, was published by HarperCollins.

She has also been a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and is currently a member of International Association for Feminist Economics. 

Das’  film on Senapati’s life and works, titled ‘Anvesan’ had won the National tele film award for which she was also felicitated by the Chief Minister of Odisha.

The film was screened in India Habitat Centre and India International Centre, New Delhi, Seattle and Dallas in USA. The Government of Odisha screened the film at Yojana Bhawan, Delhi.

Prasar Bharati has come out with a DVD of the film.