25/09/2026
đ Jayanta Mahapatra (1928â2023)
âī¸ Indian English Poet âĸ Essayist âĸ Editor âĸ Teacher of Physics
Jayanta Mahapatra was one of the most distinguished Indian poets writing in English and a pioneering voice in modern Indian English poetry. Deeply rooted in the history, culture, and landscape of Odisha, his poetry explores identity, memory, faith, suffering, love, history, and the human condition. He was the first Indian poet writing in English to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award.
đ Major Works
Close the Sky, Ten by Ten (1971)
Svayamvara and Other Poems (1971)
A Rain of Rites (1976)
A Father's Hours (1976)
Waiting (1979)
Relationship (1980)
The False Start (1980)
Life Signs (1983)
Dispossessed Nests (1986)
A Whiteness of Bone (1992)
Shadow Space (1997)
Random Descent (2005)
đ Best-Known Poems
Hunger
Dawn at Puri
Indian Summer
The Wh******se in a Calcutta Street
The Abandoned British Cemetery at Balasore
Total Solar Eclipse
đ Major Themes
Identity and belonging
Odisha's history and culture
Poverty and hunger
Love and loneliness
Death and suffering
Nature and landscape
Faith and spirituality
Memory and human relationships
â UGC NET Key Points
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Born: 22 October 1928, Cuttack, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India
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Died: 27 August 2023, Cuttack, Odisha, India
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Education: M.Sc. in Physics, Patna University
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Began his career as a Physics lecturer in 1949 and retired as Reader in Physics at Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University) in 1986.
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First Indian poet writing in English to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award (1981) for Relationship.
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Padma Shri (2009); returned the award in 2015.
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Sahitya Akademi Fellow (2019), the Akademi's highest honour.
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Founder-editor of the literary magazine Chandrabhaga, an influential platform for Indian writing in English.
đ One-Line Revision
Jayanta Mahapatra = First Indian English poet to win the Sahitya Akademi Award + Relationship + Hunger + Dawn at Puri + Odisha + Modern Indian English Poetry.