Born :- 25-Jul-1891
Died :- 1969
Place of Birth :- Gadachaitanyapur, Badakhemundi, Gajapati

The real name of the poet, playwright and editor Baishnab Kabichandra Rajguru was Baishnav Rath. He was awarded the title of Kabichandra and Rajguru for his outstanding creativity. Earlier, his father, Jagabandhu Rath, was also conferred the same title for his extra-ordinary literary acumen. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the tradition of literary discourses in their family since the days of the grand- and great-grandparents had run into their blood cells.

Vaishnav Kabichandra Rajguru was honoured at many royal courts. He was one among the leading figures of the Utkal Sammilani which was then leading a movement for the formation of a separate state of Odisha, advocating unification of the Odia-speaking tracts lying scattered under the Calcutta and Madras presidencies as well as inside Bihar. The weekly journal, Ganjam Gunadarpan, earlier edited by Markandeya Tarka Panchanan and later by Pandit Neelamani Vidyaratna and published from Badakhemundi had closed down under various circumstances. But it was republished in 1937 under the patronage of King Ramchandradev with Kabichandra Rajguru as its editor, though it was closed again after being published for a year and a half. Kalia Panigrahi, Raja Laxminarayan Harichandan Jagdev, Kaliprasanna Kabi, Baikunthanath Das, Shyamsunder Das Goswami and Nilakantha Rath were prominent writers whose regular contribution made the magazine attractive.

Kabichandra himself was also a well-known writer. He authored poetry books like ‘Sharad Suman’ (1911), ‘Raghu Digvijaya’ (1912), ‘Rati Rodan’ (1913), ‘Basanti’ (1963), ‘Sangeet Kalpalata’ (1927) and plays like ‘Premalata Parinaya’, ‘Harishchandra’, ‘Prahallad’ and ‘Khandav Dahan’ which made him very popular among Odia readers and drama enthusiasts.

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