Odia, a sweet language with fantastic writers
Odia is a very sweet language that originated from the compilation of Magadhi Apabhrangsa, Pali and Bengali. It has a phenomenal history of literature since the 7th century. From the era of Buddhist Poetry till now, Odia literature has presented fabulous writers and their outstanding writings to the readers. Let's discuss a few about those writers.
Writers from the Old Period
From the beginning of Odia literature, up to Sarala Dasa's Mahabharata Kabya, we confine it to the Old Literary Period. At its beginning, Charyapada was cultivated most in Odia literature. Sarahapada was the most eminent Charyapada writer in the Odia language. The second and most important literature of Odia language is Mahabharata Kabya during the fifteenth century. Its writer Sarala Dasa(original name Siddheswar Pariya), can be claimed as the 1st scholar writer of Odia literature. He also wrote some historical pieces like Chandi Purana Vilanka Ramayana.
Writers from Mediaeval Period
The time from the 16th to 19th century can be identified as the Mediaeval period in the case of Odia literature. It was started with the Bhakti movement by Panchasakha Jagannath Das, Balaram Das, Achyutananda Das, Ananta Das and Jasobanta Das. They used to write Bhakti literature- a homage to Lord Krishna. After Panchasakha, other writers, mainly Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja and Kabisurya Baladev Rath, brought the tradition of Bhakti Literature up to the middle of the 19th century.
Writers from Modern Period
It began from the mid 19th century, immediately after the influence of modernism. And like all other literature, it got a drastic change in the case of writers, content and audience as well. The era was begun with upper-class writers like Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Roy, Gangadhar Meher. But, in a few years, writers started coming up from common people, with contents from common life. Modern writers like Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi, Sachi Routrey, Binod Chandra Nayak, Gopinath Mohanty; female writers such as Sarojini Sahu, Archana Nayak, NandiniSahu and so many others came out as fantabulous writers and received so many national and even international awards and worldwide fame.
Writers of Children Literature
Children's literature in the Odia language has a prolonged history since the period of Loka Sahitya, named Moukhika Sishu Sahitya. But, it got a push and spread in the common mass after the implementation of the modern education system. Written Children Literature has been enriched by the writings of Ramakrishna Nanda, Krutibas Nayak, Adikanda Mahanta and others. Ramakrishna's first Odia book Sahitya Sopana became a basic textbook for children to learn Odia Literature.
