BHUBANESWAR: The book launch of ‘Basanti. Writing the New Woman’ was held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan here on Friday.Author and Professor of Odia Malavika Ray unveiled the book at the event which was organised by Oxford University Press. Translated into English by Prof Himansu S Mohapatra and Paul St-Pierre, the Odia novel ‘Basanti’ was first published 90 years ago. Nine authors - Annanda Shankar Ray, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Sarat Chandra Mukherjee, Harihar Mahapatra, Muralidhar Mahanti, Baisnab Charan Das, Suprava Devi, Pratibha Devi and Sarala Devi - took turns to write alternate chapters of the novel.
Basanti is the first and only example of a collective novel in Odia literature. The English translation of the novel showcases the period of ‘cooperative intellectualism’ which has virtually become extinct from both Odia and Indian literature.While Ananta Mahapatra presided over the event, the book review was done by S Deepika.