Born :- 22-Oct-1886
Died :- 19th Century
Place of Birth :- Dikhitapada, Salepur

Girija Shankar Ray was born on October 22 in Dikhit Pada village under Salepur in Cuttack district. He was a descendant of Karmayogi Gaurishshankar Ray and son of the playwright Ramashankar Ray.

Mr. Ray began his career as a professor in the English department of Ravenshaw College and retired as the Principal of Samanta Chandrashekhar College, Puri. Although he spent his life teaching English literature, he was one of the leading figures in Odia criticism literature. Although a classical tradition is in vogue for discussion of Eastern literature, he was influenced by the works based on the thoughts and theories of Western, especially English literature, and, against this backdrop, wrote a book titled Sahitya Sandarva, in 1933. Some of the underlying mysteris of the creation of literature, its emotions, the imagination and the expression of beauty in the creation are what this book deals with. Girijashankar is the author of a number of review books titled ‘Sarala Bhasha-tatwa’ (Simple Linguistics), ‘Rachana Bichara’ (Discussion on Composition) and ‘Odia Natyakala’ (Odia Dramatics).

In ‘Sarala Bhasha-tatwa’ (Simple Linguistics), he discusses the nature of language, its soul, its origin and its use in the expression of thought. The ‘Rachana Bichara’ (Discussion on Composition) deals with the principles of determination of the intrinsic thought of the creation of literature, the special features of the style followed in the creation and the significance of the composition. He has also authored articles titled ‘Sahityare Soundarya-tatwa’ (Beauty Theory in Literature), ‘Samalochanara Dhara O Lakshya’ (Trends of Criticism and its Goals’ published in the Utkal Sahitya magazine. 'Odia Natyakala' (Odia Dramatics) is a testimonial to Girijashankar's historical research and review on Odia playwrights and their works. The playwrights who had disappeared from the scene by 1940 are discussed in detail in ‘Odia Natyakala’. The reviews are factual and systematic. The general rules of linguistics, the similarities and distinctions between novels and plays have been strikingly identified during the course of the reviews. The refined language and the use of serious prose style have made his discussions impressive.

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