Jagannath Prasad Das

Jagannath Prasad Das Poems

Jagannath Prasad Das Biography

Jagannath Prasad Das is an Oriya writer and recipient of the Saraswati Samman and Sahitya Akademi literary awards. His literary works include poetry, fiction, drama and criticism. In 2006 he was awarded the Saraswati Samman for his collection of poems, Parikrama – the third Oriya writer to be so honoured. He has also received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetic verses Je Jahar Nirjanata. His writing style is characterized by imagery and is influenced by the style of language spoken by the common people. Das has done research on palm-leaf manuscripts and published a book Palm-Leaf Miniatures. He has also researched pattachitra (the miniature paintings of Orissa) and published books, Puri paintings and Chitra-pothi. Das was born in Puri, Odisha in 1936. Das started writing in the Oriya language during his teenage years and continued writing mostly poetry until 1955, when he enrolled at Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University). After graduation in 1955 he stopped writing and moved to Allahabad for graduate studies, receiving a Master of Arts in political science and a Ph.D. in art history. From 1963 to 1966, Das worked for the state government of Odisha. In 1973, he joined the Government of India's Indian Administrative Service in New Delhi, where he served for 15 years. Das published his first poetry collection, Pratham Purush, in 1971. This book was subsequently translated into Hindi and English. He quit his government job in 1984 in order to continue his passion for writing and research. Das has written about ten poetry collections (eight of which have been translated into Hindi) five plays, seven short story collections, an historical novel and a book of poems for children. His historical novel, Desha Kala Patra, was based on the transformation of Orissa's social life in the 19th century during the British rule in India. This book was selected by the National Book Trust for translation into all Indian languages. Das worked with the Children's Film Society, India, as a member of the board, from 1985 to 1990. He worked with the Orissa Film Development Corporation from 1988 to 1993. In 1987 he edited a book on films, Films for Children. Poetry Je Jahar Nirjanata Pratham Purush Parikrama Poorvapar - 1 Poorvapar - 2 Ahnik Alukuchi Malukuchi (1993))

The Best Poem Of Jagannath Prasad Das

Kalahandi

Put away the road maps now.
To go there,
you do not need
helicopters any more;
wherever there is hunger,
there Kalahandi is.

The god of rain
turned away his face.
There was not one green leaf
left on the trees for supper.
The whole village a graveyard.
Cracked ground,
drab river sand.
All the plans failed;
the poverty line
receded further.

Wherever you stare,
there Kalahandi is:
in the sunken eyes
of living skeletons,
in rags which do not
cover the frail bodies,
in the utensils
pawned off for food,
in the crumbling huts
with unthatched roofs,
in the exclusive prosperity
of having owned
two earthen pots.

Kalahandi is there everywhere:
in the gathering of famished crowds
before charity kitchens,
in market places
where children are auctioned off,
in the sighs of young girls
sold to brothels,
in the silent procession
of helpless people
leaving their hearth and home.

Come, look at Kalahandi closer:
in the crocodile tears
of false press statements,
in the exaggerated statistics
of computer print-outs,
in the cheap sympathies
doled out at conferences,
and in the false assurances
presented by planners.

Kalahandi is very close to us:
in the occasional contribution
of our souls,
in the unexpected nagging of conscience,
in the rare repentance
in empathy,
in the nightmares
appearing through sound sleep,
in disease, in hunger,
in helplessness,
in the abject fear
of an impending bloodshed.

How could we then walk
into the celebrated portals
of the twentyfirst century,
leaving Kalahandi behind?

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