Born :- 21-Jun-1922
Died :- 21-Dec-1990
Place of Birth :- Purushottampur, Cuttack

A multi-faceted personality, Surendra Mohanty was an epoch maker in Odia literature. Born on 21 June, 1922 in Purushottampur village of the then undivided Cuttack district, was a unique creator of post-independence modern Odia prose.

Along with literary pursuit, he made the best of his multifaceted talents by dedicating his life to politics, journalism, and public service. Politics extended his literary life. She married Renuka Devi in ??1945. In 1946, he became the editor of the daily ‘Ganatantra’ for the first time and, later, for the second time from 1955 to 1960. He was editor of the daily ‘Kalinga’ from 1962 to 1971. He was chief editor of the daily ‘Sambad’ from 1984 to 1987. His editorials in the’Sambad’ published under the main caption ‘Sesha Stambha’ (The Last Column) were later compiled into a volume under the same title.

Surendra Mohanty was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1952 to 1956, and againfrom 1879 to 1884. He was also a member of the Lok Sabha from 1956 to 1962 and again from 1971 to 1976. He oured China in 1956. He was awarded the prestigious Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award in 1959 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in the 1969. Also, he was presented the Sarala Award in 1980. He was the President of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi from 1981 to 1987.

The inventory of Surendra Mohanty’s creations include: ‘Nilashaila’, ‘Andha Diganta’, 'Maralara Mrutyu’, ‘Ajibakar Attahasa’, ‘Krushnabenire Sandhya’,  ‘Pruthwiballav’, ‘College Boy’, ‘Badhu O Priya’, Mahanagarira Ratri’, Phakirmohan’, ‘Krushnachuda’, ‘Sahashra Sajyar nayika’, ‘Ruti O Chandra’,  ‘Sesha kabita’, ‘Phakirmohan Samiksha’,’Sabuja patra O Dhusar Golap’, ‘Utkal Juge Juge’, ‘Odia Sahityar Adiparva’, ‘Surendra Sanchayana’, ‘Surendra Bichitra’, ‘Odia sahityar Madhya Parva’, ‘Satabdira Surjya’, ‘Bapu’, ‘Mahanirvana’, ‘O! Kalkata’, ‘Kabi O Nartaki’, ‘Madhusudan Das’, ‘Kulbruddha’, ‘ Odia Sahityar Kramabikash’, ‘Sahitya O Samaj', 'Niladri Vijay', ‘Mansara Konark’, ‘Achalayatan’, ‘Lord Jagannath’, ‘Kalantar’, ‘Neti Neti’, ‘Jadubhansha O Anyanya Galpa’, ‘Dinakrushna Das: Monograph', 'Rajdhani O Anyanya Galpa’, and ‘Path O Pruthibi’ (autobiography).

Surendra Mohanty enriched the Odia language by creating different genres of literature. He was an expert in exploring the value of life amidst human desires, uncontrolled thoughts, animalistic tendencies, secrets of the mind, Natural disasters such as floods, the declining democratic, social and moral values. Surendra Mohanty’s crations are unique and of a different class in terms of symbolic language, pictorial expression, use of vogue and obsolete words, environmental depiction and psychoanalysis. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is just wonderful to experience the ease and sweetness of his unparalleled creations.

Criticism

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