JAGATSINGHPUR: Jasobant Das, the great Odia poet, seems to have been forgotten in his own district. The poet’s house at Nailo village under Biridi tehsil is in ruins with no effort by the State Government to protect the memories associated with him.
The poet’s birthplace continues to be neglected due to lack of preservation, despite several cultural programmes being organised on his birth and death anniversaries every year. Das, one of the friends of Panchasakha, was born in 1482 at Adhang Garh in Nailo village.
Five poets, Balaram Das, Jagannath Das, Achyutananda Das, Ananta Das and Jasobant Das, who were known as ‘Panchasakha’ in the medieval period, had deeply influenced both Odia spiritualism and literature. They were the disciples of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was the first person to establish Bhaaba-Mishrita Naama Marga (the path of chanting the holy name with proper feelings and faith). He had referred to these five friends as ‘Panchasakha’. The famous saint, Bhakt Salabeg, was his disciple.
The Endowment Commission had formed a Trust for development of this ‘peeth’ and in 2016, an amount of Rs 30,000 was given for daily rituals and Rs 10,000 for construction of ‘rath’ (car festival). “But this fund has also been stopped from last year. As there is no permanent income, daily rituals and other expenditures are dependent on contributions of devotees,” said locals.
Villagers, while ruing the neglect towards the great personality, said, “Nothing has been done for him. Only his birth and death anniversaries are observed mechanically. Not even a memorial has been made for him, despite false assurances since years.” They demanded that the ‘peeth’ be declared as a tourist spot with the construction of a boundary wall, panthasala, toilet, renovation of an old pond and other beautification works.
Every year, Odisha Sahitya Academy, in collaboration with Jasobant Sanskrutika Bikash Kala Anusthan, observes the death anniversary of the poet on December 13.