Sambeet Dash

Following World War I, the fight for freedom gathered momentum. Mahatma Gandhi was the talk of villages, towns and cities – taking the entire country by storm. Inspired by him, Nilakantha Das joined Gandhi’s Non-cooperation movement when the Father of the nation visited Odisha in the later part of 1919.

After leaving Satyavadi School, Pandit Das had some time to spare. He started focusing on writing literature. He completed his translation of Tennyson’s poem “The Princess” to Odia, titling it as “PRANAYINI” which was published in February 1919.

While studying literature, he came in contact with KEDAR-GAURI, the epic love story based upon the legendary Odia lovers Kedara and Gauri. The epic  was penned  by KABIBARA (The topmost Poet) Radhanath Ray, on the lines of the famous  love story “Pyramus and Thysbe” of the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s ‘Metamorphosis.’ Kedar and Gauri were Odia equivalents of Romeo – Juliet, Heer -Ranjha, all of which are purely fictional characters. Any similarities with any lovers dead or alive were purely coincidental.

As it turned out (Nilakantha himself was a witness), the local Pandas (priests) of Bhubaneswar’s Kedar-Gauri temple began selling this fictional story to the gullible tourists. Pointing to the locations near the bubbling spring, they would narrate the lover’s fantasy to the pack of visitors: ‘through this particular peep -hole the romantic Kedara and Gauri used to share their sweet nothings.’; or ‘at this exact spot Kedar held Gauri’s Saree (Indian ladies attire) as the lovelorn girl – desirous of staying longer – tried to flee out of fear. Fear emanating from locals who might have got an inkling of their love affair! Or even this, ‘down there at the dark, deep end their bodies were discovered, as the young love- birds ended their life to be reunited in their next life’ and so on. The smart priests recounted their own version, juxtaposing the fictional account of Radhanath Ray to the name of Kedar Gauri temple and making a successful living out of it.

It was one of the myths peddled by the Pandas which was exposed by Nilakantha explaining  Kedar – Gouri are none other than Siva & Parvati who are worshipped in a temple nearby. No humans named Kedar and Gauri ever met in secrecy and never killed themselves at that place. But the myth lives on.

In next to no time, Nilakantha Das completed his better known poem RAMACHANDI RE RAATI (Night at Ramachandi). It took him seven days of writing and rewriting the text, spending couple of sleepless nights dreaming for the right words. This poem was greatly appreciated in literary circuits, inspiring him to pen more such poetry.

Pandit Das has vividly described the drought of 1919 AD. This was an era when flood and famine were common occurrences in Odisha due to the vagaries of erratic monsoon. He, along with Sri Gopabandhu Das would go far and wide, distributing food, mostly CHUDA (parched rice) during the flood and MUDHI (puffed rice) to the droughts stricken people.

There was a farmer named Siddhi Baral near Puri who had acres of fertile land lying fallow for 3 long years due to insufficient rains, driving him to penury. His hungry brother begged the visiting Nilakantha for some food. No sooner he was served, than after swallowing a few GUNDAS (handfuls of rice) the hapless farmer collapsed.

It was one of several malnutrition deaths Nilakantha witnessed from close quarters which brought tears to his eyes. One day when he arrived at a village to continue his social work, he counted 22 dead bodies at the GAAN MUNDA (Village entrance). The feeble, malnourished inhabitants were not in a position to give the deceased a decent funeral. Nilakantha and his friends would gather woods and twigs, piling one dead body over another on pyre, giving a civilized burial possible under the circumstances.

(This is the 9th in series of recapitulation in the writer’s own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das’s Biography in Odia.)

Sambeet Dash is an Odia technocrat living in Georgia US.

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