Mohapatra Nilamani Sahoo (22 December 1926 – 25 June 2016), surname also spelt Sahu, was an Indian

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

short story writer. He received several literary awards over his career, including the 1979

Odisha Sahitya Academy Award Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award () is a literary award awarded to an Odia language litterateur for outstanding contribution to Odia literature in various categories by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, an institution established in 1957 in Odisha for act ...

for ''Akasha Patala'', and the 1983 Sarala Award and the 1984 Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia, for ''Abhisapta Gandharba''. Sahoo died on 25 June 2016 after multiple organ failures.

Life and career

Sahoo was born on 22 December 1926 in the town Niali of the Cuttack district in a wealthy

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

family. He studied and completed matriculation at the Binjharpur High School and later went on to finish his graduation and post-graduation in Odia at the

Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

at Cuttack. After post-graduation, Sahoo took the job of librarian at the

Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is located in Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The governor of Odisha is the chancellor of t ...

where he continued for two years. Later he took the post of lecturer of Odia at the Bhadrak College, followed by Paralakhemundi Government College at Gajapati. Sahoo became vice-principal and later principal of the BJB Evening College at Bhubaneshwar.

Literary works and awards

Sahoo wrote various short stories in Odia language. His popular works include ''Prema Tribhuja'' (1952), ''Michha Bagha'' (1955), ''Srunantu Sarbe Amrutasya Putra'' (1957), ''Ganjei O’ Gabesana'' (1961), ''Andha Ratira Surya'' (1965) and more. He also published novel; ''Dhara O Dhara'', ''Tamasi Radha'' and ''Hansa Mithuna''. Sahoo also wrote one-act and children's plays. His 1979 book ''Akasha Patala'' (literally "Heaven and Hell") won him the

. The short story compilation ''Abhisapta Gandharba'' (literally "The Cursed

Gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

") received the Sarala Award in 1983, followed by a Sahitya Akademi Award for Odia in 1984. The book was translated into

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

by Siddharth Mansingh Mahapatra in 1992. From 1965 to 1969, Sahoo edited and wrote for the magazine ''Jhankara''. He was also the editor of other periodicals such as ''Utkala Prasanga'' and ''Orissa Review'' from 1975 to 1978. In ''Jhankara'', he often wrote on philosophies of

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

. He translated Aurobindo's '' Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol'' and delivered lectures on Aurobindo,

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

and

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

. Sahoo was the recipient of the Kanta Kabi Award in 2001, the Sahitya Bharati Award in 2006, and the Utkal Ratna Award in 2013. His stories described the subtleties of human emotion and featured verbal as well as situational comedy. His works are also noted for satirizing human idiocies.

Death

Sahoo died on 25 June 2016 at the age of 89 in a private hospital at

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

. He suffered from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

and was admitted to hospital on 24 June after falling critically ill. He died after multiple organ failures. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahoo, Mohapatra Nilamani 1926 births 2016 deaths Odia-language writers Odia short story writers People from Cuttack district Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Odia Recipients of the Atibadi Jagannath Das Award Recipients of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award Writers from Odisha 20th-century Indian short story writers