Poet non pareil
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Bhanja's poetry was respected for its high literary value.
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Kavisamrat (emperor among the poets) Upendra Bhanja (1675-1725), scion of the royal family of Ghumusar was the uncrowned king of poetry in Orissa.
His was a time of dominance of Sanskrit poets and Bhanja with his elaborate craftsmanship and intense thought content came up with romances-both religious and non-religious-like Baidehisabilasa, Lavanyabati and Subhadra parinaya .
High eroticism coupled with a stylised language made Bhanja a non-pareil poet. His poems were ornamental with a high literary value. Such has been the influence of Bhanja on Oriya literature that noted Bhanja scholar G K Brahma says "It is strange that even now people imitate his poems."
Chira Sandhan - a literary newspaper of the State has been paying tribute to the memory of this great son of the soil on his birthday every year. Accordingly a "Bhanja special issue" was released recently at a function organised to celebrate "Bhanja jayanti."
The celebrations began with recitation of the vedas by Pandit Swapneswar Panda. While speakers lamented the lack of adequate circulation of Bhanja poetry at national and international levels, Parthasarathi Ajay Barik, the editor of Chirasandhan talked about Bhanja as a poet emerging against heavy odds.
Various aspects of Bhanja's poetry were discussed by Barik who quoted extensively from various epics penned by the poet.
On the occasion Hrudananda Ray, Prabhat Kumar Nanda, Joytsna Pal and Suprabha Ray were honoured with " Sandhan Samman 2005."
B.M.
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