ABSTRACT
In this essay, Chintamani Behera attempts an evaluation of the oeuvre of Sachidananda Rautray, arguably the greatest modern Odia poet after Radhanath Ray. The essay is at once an impassioned celebration and spirited defence of Sachidananda. It assumes significance for the serious critical attention it devotes to the totality of a contemporary writer’s works. One can discern in Chintamani’s essay the influence of the New Critical practice of consciously dissociating a writer’s work from the historical and social contexts in which it is emended. It marks a significant point of departure from the dominant tendency in modern Odia literary criticism towards a historical study of literature. Chintamani shows how Sachidananda rejected the mystical outlook and escapism of the Sabuja poets and affirmed movement and struggle as the guiding principles of human existence. The humanism embodied in his works enables Sachidananda to powerfully combat feelings of defeatism and despair, and enables the reader to glimpse the contours of a regenerated and egalitarian world order. However, Chintamani’s evaluation of Sachidananda’s achievement is not entirely laudatory. He concedes that the poet’s passionate commitment to a particular political ideology sometimes makes his poems descend to the level of propaganda. But Sachidananda’s supreme craftsmanship and the depth of vision help him rise above ideology and create poems and stories of enduring appeal. Chintamani defends his favourite poet against his critics by pointing out how Sachidananda presents a richer worldview in his poetry by absorbing influences from world literature and reflecting a cosmopolitan outlook. Chintamani invites the reader’s attention to a large number of brilliantly original images and metaphors Sachidananda employs in his poems. These, Chintamani argues, introduces the Odia reader to a radically new sensibility and modes of expression. Importantly, in this essay, Chintamani highlights the provisional nature of his critical judgement and accepts the possibility of his approach to the poet evolving in course of time.
