Radhanath Ray

Radhanath Ray

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Category: Literature

Radhanath Ray Profile

  • Name:
  • Radhanath Ray
  • Died:
  • April 27, 1908

Radhanath Ray Biography

Radhanath Ray was one of the great poets of Oriya literature during 19th century. He has also done a few Bengali works. He belongs to initial modernity era in Oriya poetry and his works include verses and poetry. Ray’s first major work was Kabitabali, a collection of poems in Bengali written at the age of eighteen. Lekhabali is the second popular poem in Bengali. He was viewed as a national poet of the first order in Odisha. Ray was born on 28 September 1848 in Kedarpur of Baleswar.

 

But later he switched to Oriya language and has contributed a lot to Oriya culture which forms an integral part of Oriya literature in the late 19th century. Kedar Gauri, Nandikeshwari, Chilika, Mahajatra – Jajatikeshari, Tulasistabaka, Urbashi, Darabara, Dasaratha Biyoga, Savitri Charita and Mahendra Giri are among his noted Oriya works. In association with Fakir Mohan Senapati, who is regarded as the father of Oriya literature he started an organization for the development of Oriya language when Oriya language was still in under-developed stage during British rule. Both of them played a significant role for the fight of their mother tongue, before being completely dominated by Bengali.

 

Oriya language movement was active at the time when he was born. Some of the Bengali educationalists also wanted to abolish Oriya language as the medium of teaching from schools. John Beams, a British Officer was one among those who proved that Oriya is older and richer than Bengali language. As schools predominantly had Bengali teachers, they tried to make Bengali as medium of instruction. He, along with Fakir Mohan Senapati fought against the expansionism of Bengali language in Orissa schools and saved from the erase of Oriya language from Odisha. Along with Fakir Mohan Senapati and Madhusudan Rao, he tried to promote text book writings.

 

He was inspired by English writers like Keats, Scott and Wordsworth. Though he contributed a lot of Oriya literature, he was not accepted by readers at first. He had a love affair with Bengali poetess Ms. Nagendra Bala Ray. As he was very orthodox, this affair made him disturbed and confessed his misdemeanour publicly, through press. This incident made him a saint among his readers of that period.

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Updated: January 02, 2014

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