On Sunday, the famous poetry age ended in Cuttack when Jayanta Mahapatra, the first Indo-Anglian poet to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award, passed away at the age of 95, know his biography
Mahapatra had received care at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack since August 4 for age-related disorders.
Poet Jayanta Mahapatra death reason, biography, age, family, wife, son and poems and books list
Jayanta Mahapatra, a magnificent literary personality, was one of the most widely-known poets of the modern period. He breathed his last on August 27, 2023.
He was under treatment for an age-related ailment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack. He was under ventilator support, suffered a brain stroke, and passed away following a cardiac arrest at 9 p.m.
Who is Jayanta Mahapatra?
The English poet was born on October 22, 1928, in Cuttack, Bihar, and Orissa Provinces, British India. He went to Stewart School in Cuttack, Odisha. He completed his M.Sc. in physics from Patna University, Bihar, in 1950.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Family
He was born to Lemuel Mahapatra and Sudhansa Mahapatra. He was born into a Christian family. His grandfather was a Hindu but was forced to convert to Christianity due to a hunger and poverty strike in Orissa in 1886.
Jayanta had a tough childhood with a father who always put his wife before his children. His mother used to throw away all the diaries that he used to write during his difficult time in school. He ran away from his house twice when he was a teenager but was later brought back by his father.
His work reflects all the pain and hardship he went through during his childhood.
He was married to Jyotsana Mahapatra, who was also a literature student. The couple has a son together.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Teaching Career
In 1949, Jayanta began his teaching career as a lecturer in physics and taught at various government colleges in Odisha, including Gangadhar Meher College, Sambalpur; B.J.B. College, Bhubaneshwar; Fakir Mohan College, Balasore; and Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1986, he retired from his government job as the Reader in Physics.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Writing Career
As a novelist, fiction writer, and storyteller, Mahapatra began writing poetry before he wrote poetry. He submitted his work to the Illustrated Weekly of India when he was 22 years old, but it was turned down. Following that, he kept up his teaching job while also starting a photographic business.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poetry In English
After 17 years of being rejected by the Illustrated Weekly of India, he again gave writing a try and wrote poems that were highly recognised in famous journals around the world, including the Chicago Review, New York Quarterly, Poetry, Sewanee Review, Critical Review, Times Literary Supplement, Meanjin Quarterly, and Malahat Review.
Mahapatra’s first poetry collection, “Close the Sky, Ten by Ten,” was published in 1971 and received critical acclaim. Later, he published many poetry collections, including “Bare Face and “Temple. A Rain of Rite, Selected Poems, and Random Descent He was invited to participate in the International Writing Programme.
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poetry
- 1971: Close the Sky Ten by Ten, Calcutta: Dialogue Publications
- 1971: Svayamvara and Other Poems, Calcutta: Writers Workshop
- 1976: A Father’s Hours, Delhi: United Writers
- 1976: A Rain of Rites, Georgia: University of Georgia Press
- 1979: Waiting, Pune: Samkaleen Prakashan
- 1980: The False Start, Bombay: Clearing House
- 1980: Relationship, New York: Greenfield Review Press
- 2017: Collected Poems, Mumbai: Paperwall Publishing
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Prose
- 1997: The Green Gardener, short stories, Hyderabad: Orient Longman
- 2006: Door of Paper: Essays and Memoirs, New Delhi: Authorspress
- 2011: Bhor Moitra Kanaphula (Odia), Bhubaneswar: Paschima Publications
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Poetry in Odia
- 1993: Bali (The Victim); Cutack: Vidyapuri
- 1995: Kahibe Gotiye Katha (I’ll Tell a Story), Arya Prakashan
- 1997: Baya Raja (The Mad Emperor), Cuttack: Vidyapuri
- 2004: Tikie Chhayee (A Little Shadow), Cuttack: Vidyapuri
- 2006: Chali (Walking), Cuttack: Vidyapuri
- 2008: Jadiba Gapatie (Even If It’s A Story), Cuttack: Friends Publishers
- 2011: Smruti Pari Kichhiti (A Small Memory), Cuttack: Bijayini
Jayanta Mahapatra’s Awards
- 2017, Kanhaiya Lal Sethia Award for Poetry (Jaipur Literature Festival)
- 2013, RL Poetry Lifetime Achievement Award for Poetry, Hyderabad
- 1970, Second Prize, International Who’s Who in Poetry, London
- 1975, Jacob Glatstein Memorial Award, Poetry, Chicago
- 1976–77, Visiting Writer, International Writing Programme, Iowa City
- 1978, Cultural Award Visitor, Australia
- 1980, Japan Foundation, Visitor’s Award, Japan.
“All the poetry there is in the world
appears to rise out of the ashes.
The ash sits between us and
puts its arms across our shoulders.”No poet ever dies.
Long live Jayanta Mahapatra (1928-2023).#JayantaMahapatra #Odia #Poetry pic.twitter.com/ndOJjx4wtR
— Anand ST Das (@anandstdas) August 27, 2023