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Gopabandhu Das
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gopabandhu Das was born in Swando village of Puri district in Orissa in the year 1877 9 October.
He is one of the founders of modern Orissa, also remembered for his patriotic lyrical poems and lucid, thought provoking writings. Gopabandhu Das was a public spirited Gandhian of Utkal who championed the cause of the statehood of Orissa.
After graduation, he got his Law degree and joined the Bar. But he diverted his legal profession and became a devotee of the people of Orissa. Along with his friends, Nilakantha Das, Godavarish Mishra, Acharya Harihar Das and Krupasindhu Misra, he started a school at Satyabadi (now Sakhigopal) near Puri, which became the most important center of cultural activities of Orissa for decades.
He championed the cause of the formation of the Orissa state for the Oriya-speaking people, started the Satyabadi (a literary monthly). He edited Asha, a newspaper from Berhampur and later launched his own weekly Samaj from Puri in 1919 (which later became the most widely circulated daily newspaper of Orissa). He had launched the Kartavya Padhini Samiti (duty awakening society) for securing the Oriyas, their rights and privileges. Gopabandhu Das was a great orator and his speeches made at the Bihar-Orissa legislature of which he was a member, showed his excellent style of oratory as well as clarity of thought and concern for the poor. One may point at him as the father of modern Oriya journalism. His essays on education easily prove that he was an educationist of great insight and understanding. His ambition from childhood was to be a poet. Absorbed in social activities he had little time for literary endeavours, yet while imprisoned in the Hazaribagh Jail (1922-1924) for participating in the Indian Freedom Movement, he wrote Bandira Atmakatha (The soliloquy of a Prisoner) and Dharmapada. Bandira Atmakatha is the expression of his deep love for the people of Orissa and Dharmapada is the story of the twelve-year-old artisan boy who, after completing the Konark temple, drowned himself in the sea to save the lives and prestige of the twelve hundred artisans of Orissa. Though not a poetic genius, his sincerity of feelings and simple diction touches the heart of the reader. Educated Oriyas are often found quoting a line or two from his verses such as Mishu Mora Deha E Desha Matire (Let this body of mine merge with the soil of this country), Pachha Ghuncha Nahin Birara Jatake (The valiant never retreats), or Raha Raha Kshyane Vaspiya Sakata, Dekhibi Chilika Charu Chitrapata (A poem dedicated to the beauty of Chilika Lake). A prolific writer in English and Oriya, Gopabandhu had a unique style of presentation of his ideas. He is often referred to as the Father of Modern Orissa. He was conferred the honorary title of Utkalamani (The jewel of Utkal/Orissa) by the people of Orissa.
