SALEPUR: FOR Ganakabi Baishnab Pani, recognition came after his death. An unsung hero during his life time, his contributions were recognised only after he passed away. A visit to Mahanga on Kumar Purnima and the rich tributes paid to the poet are pointers.
Like every year, starting from Kumar Purnima today, weeklong celebrations have begun to commemorate the birth anniversary of Ganakabi, remembered mostly for his contribution to Oriya dancedrama or 'gitinatya'. The celebrations began from Pani's birthplace at Kothapada, a remote village on the bank of the river Birupa. People from far and wide came calling to pay floral tribute to the poet statue.
And it is not just Kothapada, every part of Mahanga and even its adjacent Salepur and Nischintakoili blocks have come alive. Literary and cultural activities are lined up to mark the weeklong celebrations.
During the period, litterateurs, political leaders and social workers will visit Mahanga to discuss Pani's literature. An integral part of the celebration is the staging of Pani's dancedramas.
POET'S LIFE: Pani was born in 1882 in a poor Brahmin family of Kothapada village. Satrughna as he was named by his parents was an ailing child. Unable to afford his treatment, his parents dedicated him to great banyan tree of Matha Bada Chhata in Puri for his wellbeing and changed his name to Baishnab.
Pani was encouraged to study by Bholanath Mishra, the then headmaster of Kothapada ME School. However, poverty forced him to drop out while he was in class VII. But gifted as he was, Pani became a popular ' palagayak'. Beside Oriya literature, Pani also excelled in Sanskrit grammar and literature. Following his second marriage to a washer man's daughter, Pani was ostracised by the conservative society of those times. But he never repented for it.
Pani went on to form his own opera troupe and toured Kolkata and Jamshedpur where he performed against the stalwarts like Gopal Das, Mohan Goswami, Krishna Prasad Basu and Bala Krishna Mohanty. His plays were appreciated not just in Orissa but in West Bengal too. He became popular as Ganakabi poet of the people.
CONTRIBUTIONS: At the age of 21, Pani wrote his first gitinatya ' Meghanada Badha' in 1903. Between 1903 and 1940, he wrote about 600 gitinatyas. His 'Ranga Sabha' was broadcast in All India Radio, Cuttack. Pani's literary works were not only based on mythology but also touched contemporary social, political and economic issues. The apt blending of humour and pathos distinguishes his works from that of others.