Poetical World of Jayant Mahapatra: Depiction of Indianness and Humanness through Past and Present of Orissa

Abstract

A poet is always a sensitive persona recording the events and situations happening around. Its
continuum starts locally but in finer poetry it goes beyond region/s and becomes global. Jayant
Mahapatra's poetical inspiration stems from his in-depth awareness of inheritance of India,
especially Orissa, which dates back thousands of years and continues till date. The state of
Orissa, both as a unique socio-cultural entity and as a representative part of India, has played
an important role in Jayant Mahapatra's poetry. Mahapatra's poetic sensibility appears to have
been shaped mostly by the two parts of Orissa that he encountered. The tumultuous historical
past on one hand while on the other, there is the all-pervading presence of religion, which has
connections with ancient culture. Then the reality strikes where there is the seemingly
unchanged lifestyle of the people of Orissa, who are primarily dependent on agriculture. As a
result, Mahapatra's poetry frequently encounters the constancy and changelessness of ancient
tradition, myths, and tales, and derives its inspiration from them. It is the purpose of this
research paper to examine Mahapatra's depiction of human predicament in people of Orissa
and how does it reflect the Indianness and global humanity.