Manas Ranjan Mahapatra

Caring about what people think of you is useless. Most people don’t even know what they think of themselves. I Don’t wait for things to get better. The last two years have been very painful for me. I have lost many nears and dears, some to Covid, some to heart attack, and some in an accident.

Many times you realize that what you did when in school or college were either childish acts or because of emotional outbursts. But that was life at that point in time.

One such incident was my argument with a senior, I wanted him to become a member of a literary organization and he refused to. Our argument went to such a level that he caught my shirt collar and my poor shirt was torn. We those days were never retaliating with our seniors as a matter of respect and I came back crying. Later, after many years that senior married one of the members of that literary organization and I understood why he avoided becoming a member, he was possibly afraid that others may know about their affairs.

Now, remembering this today I just laughed. How foolish I was, how childish was my behavior, and so was his. Life makes us experienced, and that is the knowledge that you can’t find in any book.

The other one was my learning of English. Our house was near the seashore and I used to meet people from many countries. One day I met a gentleman from England and proudly told all in the family after coming back home that I have met an Englandian. My uncle just laughed and I argued, if from India it is Indian, why not Englandian from English?

Later, while on the Expert Committee of IGNOU for the introduction of American Poetry and Drama at M Phil and Ph.D. levels, I remembered the incident and laughed. How limited was the level of knowledge those days?

This morning I was thinking of Dr. Haraprasad Parichha Pattanaik. He was teaching English and was once the teacher of some of my friends. But, we were contemporary authors and friends. When he was Secretary, of Odisha Sahitya Akademi, I was his counterpart in the Government of India as the Odia Language Editor of NBT. We together organized several unique literary events in Odisha.

I am with a lot of pain and anguish writing about Dr. Haraprasad Parichha Pattanaik. He was a poet, translator, and critic of eminence. Being from a family of feudal, his action was aristocratic which had a sense of aesthetics. It’s almost a year since he left for his heavenly abode.

It was 1981. Janaki Ballabh Patnaik was the Chief Minister, of Odisha. Haraprasad Parichha and I met at a buffet lunch hosted by the Chief Minister for young writers. Lekhak Sammukhya was just born and comprised of some authors and translators.

In 1984, Sambad was born as a newspaper in Odisha. I was selected to join it, but I preferred to join the Government of Odisha as a school headmaster. Haraprasad Parichha and I met in 1985 at a Literary Event called Sahityotsav of Lekhak Sammukhya at Parlakhemundi. Later, he worked as the Guest Editor of the Literary Page of Sun-Times, an English Daily published by Sambad Group.

He published my poems in English in that supplement. Soumya Ranjan Pattanaik once began a literary forum called SOFA and he called me for a poetry reading in that forum. But, that forum faced an untimely death. Haraprasad was used to do literature and literary meetings in a style and possibly, Odisha was then not ready for it.

While climbing up a hill, don’t forget the base from where you had started. If you lose your base, you lose the mountain too. Many mountains in this world have gone to the oceans and many new mountains have come up. I remember Haraprasad Parchha Pattanaik today as we were coworkers in climbing the mountain of Odia Literature for four decades.

Haraprasad Parichha and I had distinct differences and tremendous similarities in our style of functioning. He had a tremendous love for bureaucracy though he was in academics. I was in a semi-bureaucratic setup, but my functioning was fully academic. We were foodies and believers in doing literature in a style in a sophisticated way. Though were members of several high-level committees for selecting winners of literary awards, we neglected our own writings, never ran after awards nor promoted our family members for awards or favors. Incidentally, we had friends worldwide.

There are several incidences to remember involving my journey with Haraprasad Parichha, but I will recollect only two. Both happened in the years 1997-98.

NBT and Odisha Sahitya Akademi became partners in literary events after I took over as the Odia Language Editor of NBT. We started working together when Indubhushan Kar was Secretary, of Odisha Sahitya Akademi. In 1998 we were doing the first-ever Women Poets’ Meet of Odisha at Gopalpur on Sea.

Dr. Sumatheendra Nadig, the then Chairman, of NBT was very friendly with me. He agreed to grace the occasion. That year, we did three literary events together, at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Gopalpur. The Bhubaneswar event was inaugurated by Chief Minister Janaki Ballav Pattanaik, and the Cuttack one by Satakadi Hota, President, Lekhak Sammukhya. Haraprasad never invited a dignitary twice in the same year to a literary meeting in which his organization is either a partner or the organizer.

Then, what to do? Someone matching the status of Chairman, NBT should be invited. We roped in Nandini Satpathy, former CM and then, Chairperson of, the State Planning Board. She gladly agreed.

NBT organized a National Book Festival the next year at Rourkela. Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee was then Director, NBT and he had tremendous rapport with Sunil Gangopadhyay, an eminent author from Bengal who later headed Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. He agreed to inaugurate. But, suddenly all train services were canceled due to Bandh. Shri Gangopadhyay was to travel from Calcutta by train. Dr. Sumatheendra Nadig was to attend that festival.

Dr. Haraprasad suddenly got an idea. Surendra Nath Dwivedi, former Governor and Chairman, Gandhi Smruti, and Darshan Samity were staying with his daughter at Rourkela. We both approached him and he gladly agreed.

Haraprasad Parichha Pattanaik for me was a senior friend, philosopher, and guide at Bhubaneswar. I lost whatever rapport I had at Bhubaneswar in literature and culture on his death. He congratulated me when I took over as Director, Art, and Culture of the North Eastern Region and assured me to offer a party when I visit him.

Hopefully, we will celebrate in the other world when we meet there!