Cuttack, March 2: The 91st birth anniversary of Kishori Charan Das was marked by the release of a digital collection of complete works of the litterateur credited for giving a new direction to Odia literature in post-independence era.
Born in 1924, Das had brought modernism to Odia literature by intense study of urban middle-class life through his story telling ability.
The digital collection compiled by Srujanika was released in the form of a compact disc (CD) at an event organised by the Kishori Charan Das Smruti Parishad at Sriram Chandra Bhawan here yesterday evening.
Das, who died in 2004, wrote in both Odia and English. He also translated his own works. He received the Odisha Sahitya Akademi award and Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) award (both in 1976) for Manihara and Thakura Ghara respectively.
The digital collection of complete works of Das running to 13,265 pages include 213 short stories in Odia, seven novels in Odia, 74 short stories in English, 75 poems in Odia, 57 poems in English. Besides, 67 essays in Odia and 19 essays in English written by him along with his autobiography in Odia - Samaya Nahin and his translation works also form a part of the digital collection.
Distinguished personalities present at the event recollected the novelty of his inimitable creations, particularly in Odia.
Eminent Indo-Anglican poet Jayanta Mahapatra, who graced the occasion as the chief guest, described Kishori Charan Das as an "honest writer" who "had the heart of a child".
Mahapatra said he was among the very few Odia writers whose creations were weaved out of feelings and words which were original.
Delivering the memorial lecture noted litterateur Shantanu Rath said Das as a writer remained rooted to the urban milieu in which he spent most part of his life as an Indian audit and accounts service officer.
Rath, who is presently the director of AIR, Cuttack, said the main ingredients of the works of Das were alienation of man and empathy or compassion and his forte was unmatched dissection of his characters and their minds. He said some of his creations were testimony to a philosopher's viewpoint of life.
The Kishori Charan Das Sahitya Purashkar - 2015 was given away to Swagatika Swain for her novel Nikhun. The award included Rs 10,000 in cash and a citation. "We have been giving away the award to an Odia author below 40 every year since 2007," said Bijayananda Singh, secretary of the Smruti Parishad.
The Evening That Never Was and other works, a collection of 50 poems, penned by Kishori Charan Das between 1974 and 1986, was made public on the occasion.
