ABSTRACT
In “Netramani’s Diary”, Natabara reads Kalindi Charan Panigrahi’s iconic novel Matira Manisha [Born of the Soil] (1931) against the grain. The novel achieved unprecedented popularity for its depiction of the influence of Gandhian ideals on rural Odisha. It celebrates the noble sacrifice of its central character when faced with selfish rapacity and conflict over property, and, as the eminent Hindi critic Namwar Singh aptly observes, imaginatively reworks the story of self-sacrifice unfolding in the Ramayana. Idealism in the novel is embodied by its noble central character Baraju and this sharply contrasts with the self-centred pettiness of his younger brother’s wife Netramani. Writing in 1958, when neither feminism nor deconstruction nor even subaltern studies had struck roots in the domain of criticism, Samantaray gives an eloquent voice to a much-maligned woman and resonantly presents her point of view. Certain stereotypical responses to the novel had already crystalized by the time Natabara chooses to subject it to fresh interpretation. So, he seeks to challenge and undermine these stereotypes by trying to inhabit the consciousness of a negative character, Netramani. No one in the world of Odia criticism has performed this unusual function of a critic with such aplomb. This piece assumes significance in the context of critical discourse for it represents the attempt of a critic to step into the shoes of a creative writer by reimagining a fictional character’s motives and responses. Presented in the form of a diary, this essay illuminates aspects of criticism as a creative activity.
