Born :- 02-Dec-1930
Died :- 17-Jun-2005
Place of Birth :- Village of Kalikapur, Jagatsinghpur

Born in the village of Kalikapur in Jagatsinghpur district (under the erstwhile Cuttack district) on December 2, 1930, Binod Rautaray, a well-known Odia artist and a literary and art historian, was born on December 2, 1930 to parents Janakinath Rautaray Mohapatra and Padmavati Devi. After completing his childhood education at home and passing the matriculation examination, he was admitted to the Jajpur N.C. college. Although Janakinath had a dream to his son become a successful lawyer, Binodbabu dropped out of college midway and went to Shantiniketan to study painting under the direct supervision of famous artist Nandalal Bose. Binod, a multi-talented artist, has proved his mettle in a number of specialities, including Indian painting and woodcarving. Needless to say, he has played a praise-worthy and memorable role in both painting and children's literature besides being a poet and a biographer. He also carried out extensive research into the history of art and aesthetics which were published in book form.

Binodbabu returned to Odisha from Shantiniketan in 1956 after completing his studies in painting. He laid the foundation of his professional life as a teacher at the ‘Jeevan Vidyalaya’ in Champattimunda which was established by Sarvodaya leader Malati Devi and Sarvodaya leader and ??former Chief Minister Navakrushna Chowdhury. One year later, he joined the Bureau of Statistics under the Government of Odisha in 1957, worked at the Anugul Basic Training College from 1957 to 1967 and joined the B.K. College of Fine Arts at Khallikote in 1967. He was first a professor there and then took over as its Principal in 1989. He also served as the President of the Odisha Academy of Fine Arts for three years from 1989 to 1992.

Lines, colour, brush, and pen had become an integral part of his life till his last days. He painted hundreds of marvellous Indian paintings and created wood carvings that have lasting values. The paintings were valuable assets for many Odia, English, Bengali and Hindi magazines and books, giving them unprecedented gorgeous look. In addition, Binodbabu, a lover of language and art knowledge kept himself busy in writing poetry, studying and writing on the theories of art, aesthetics in art, biographies of ace artists, children’s literature  and essays. He has 51 books to his credit.

Binodbabu was a high school student who started his literary career in poetry, and his first poem, ‘Rati Pahila’, was published in the magazine ‘Mo Desh’, edited by the renowned nationalist poet Birkishore Das. During his college years, he published poetry books entitled ‘Nirmala’ and ‘Mousumi’ in the early stages and another compilation, ‘Priya’ in the later stages. But ‘Bangmaya’, his autobiography, is considered to be his last literary work.

Binodbabu occupied a special place in the hearts of art connoisseurs through his books like ‘Chitravidya’, 'Nandanatattva’, ‘Chitra Samiksha O Chitrakaranka Jeevani: Chitalekha’, ‘Kathakhodhei O Chitrashiksha’, ‘Rangin Kathakhodhei’, ‘Linokhodei’ra Atmakatha’,  'Rupaanweshira Swakshara’, ‘Shilpatirtha’, ‘My Graphics’, ‘Silpi’, ‘Odissi Chitra’ (Academy Award-winning), ‘Chitra Sahitya’, ‘Silpi Sammilanire Abhibhashana’, ‘Lokakalaa O Loka-Sanskruti’, ‘Kalaa O Mo Kahani’, ‘Kalaa O Soundarjyabodha Siksha’, ‘Lalita Kalaa Siksha’, ‘Gopal Kanunugo’ ‘Silpi Bimbadhar Burma’, ‘Panchasakha’ (biography of five artists), ‘Bharatiya Chitrakalaa’, (translation), ‘Prama O Pranaya’, ‘Odia, Odissi O Odisha’, ‘Samakalina Bhaskar’, ‘Samiksha O Siddhanta’, ‘Soundarjyabodha Charcha’, ‘Srujana Kalaa O Soundarjyabodha’ and ‘Nandanara Kunjatale’. Besides, he put forth vivid instances of high-quality creativity through his books for children, such as ‘Chhuti’, ‘Bengabaaida’, ‘Matikandhei’, Nua Duniara Kathaa’, ‘Kathaakusuma’, and ‘Pilanka Abanindranatha’. The most important thing about his creative personality is that Binodbabu has successfully explained complex theories of painting and aesthetics in a clear and effective way.

Poems