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Chairman Biju Patnaik Film and Television Institute, Cuttack | |
Vice-Chancellor Ravenshaw University Cuttack | |
Assumed office 15 November 2006 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 25 November 1946 Cuttack |
Residence(s) | Cuttack,Odisha,India |
Alma mater | Ravenshaw College, Utkal University Cornell University, |
Profession | Indian Administrative Service officer,writer |
Devdas Chhotray is an Indian Odia author, [1] administrator [2] and academic. He was the first vice-chancellor of Ravenshaw University,Cuttack,Odisha. [3] His work consists of poetry,short stories,lyrics,musicals and screenplays. Chhotray's father Gopal Chhotray,a recipient of Padma,Central Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,was an architect of modern Odia theatre. [4] [5]
Chhotray was educated at Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University) and Cornell University. After joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1971,he worked in West Bengal,Bihar,Orissa and New Delhi. In 2006 Chhotray became the first vice-chancellor of Ravenshaw University,obtained UGC approval for the school in six months. [6]
Chhotray was director of the Orissa Film Development Corporation from 1983 to 1989 and 1996–98,chairman of the publications committee for the fifth International Children's Film Festival in 1987 and was vice-president of the governing council of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune from 1999 to 2001.
He has written a collection of stories,Lal Machha (Red Fish),the lyrics for more than 75 films in Oriya and television musicals. Chhotray is known for his collaboration with Akshaya Mohanty,a pioneer in modern Oriya music from the 1960s until his death in 2002,as Mohanty's principal songwriter. [7] [8] [9] [10]
He has written screenplays for feature films in Oriya. One, Indradhanura Chhai (Shadows of the Rainbow) was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. [11]
In addition to Chhotray's anthologies of poems and stories in Oriya,notably Nila Saraswati (Blue Muse) and Hati Saja Kara (Order the Elephants),English translations of his poems have appeared in Longing (published by Pimlico Books in London). An anthology of his poems in Hindi,Ret Ki Sidhi (A Staircase of Sand) has been published in Delhi.
Chhotray's four decades of poetry and lyrics have been translated into Indian and foreign languages,and he has been published in Bengali (in the Sunil Gangopadhyaya-edited Krittibas. He has received the Prajatantra Bisuv Milan and Utkal Samaj Centenary (Gangadhar Meher Samman) Awards and the 2008 Rajdhani Book Fair Award 2008 for poetry.
Manoj Das was an Indian author who wrote in Odia and English. In 2000,Manoj Das was awarded the Saraswati Samman. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2001,the fourth-highest Civilian Award in India,and Padma Bhusan in 2020,the third-highest Civilian Award in India for his contribution to the field of Literature &Education.
Akshaya Mohanty,also known as Khoka Bhai,was an Indian singer,lyricist,composer,musician and writer in Odia. He has contributed Odia bhajans,Odissi songs,folk songs,film and non-film modern light songs in Odisha on contemporary themes and ballads based on popular legends in Odisha.
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 university has nine schools,thirty three academic departments and a student enrolment of nearly 8,000. It is one of the oldest educational institutes in the country and its history is synonymous with the history of modern Odisha.
Odia literatureis literature written in the Odia language,mostly from the Indian state of Odisha. The modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences,along with loanwords from Desaja,English,Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu),Persian,and Arabic. Its earliest written texts date from around 1000 CE. The earliest Odia newspaper was Utkala Deepika,first published on August 4,1866.
Sitakant Mahapatra is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995,and has held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust,New Delhi since then.
The Odia cinema,colloquially known as Ollywood,is the Odia language Indian film industry,based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha,India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood.
Anubhav Mohanty is an Indian actor,politician,film producer,television personality and social activist who is known for his work majorly in Odia language films. Mohanty has also worked in Bengali films. Mohanty has a significant fan following especially in Odisha.
Dahuka boli are poetic recitations which Dahukas,the charioteer who recite during the Rath Yatra in Puri,Odisha. Ratha Yatra being a symbolic expression of fertility and Life cycle,these "boli" sung by the Dahuka contain bawdy songs. It is believed that unless the Dahuka boli is sung 'Ratha' doesn't move. These songs are sung publicly without any kind of hold on the lyrics. Dahuka controls the movement of Ratha during the festival. This tradition is the remnant of Vajrayana Buddhism in Odisha and the lyrics bear the signature of the Vajrayana Buddhist poetry. The Dahukas are believed to be the descends of the famous 84 Mahasiddhas.
Jagannath Prasad Das is an Indian writer,poet,painter,playwright and novelist who writes in Odia.
Gopal Chhotray (1916–2003) was an Indian dramatist and playwright. He was born in Puranagarh village of Jagatsinghpur district in Bihar and Orissa Province,India.
Artaballabha Mohanty,was a notable writer and literary critique.
Prabhat Nalini Das was an Indian public intellectual,academic and university president. She served as a professor of English and head of the English Department at Lady Shri Ram College,Delhi University;Indian Institute of Technology,Kanpur;Utkal University and Ranchi University. She was the first Director/Dean of the Humanities Division at the Indian Institute of Technology,Kanpur;Founder-Professor and Head of the Department of English at Utkal University for almost 19 years,and Chairman of Utkal University's Post Graduate Council;and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of North Eastern Hill University,a Central University established by an act of the Parliament of India,with independent charge of its Kohima,Nagaland campus.
Indradhanura Chhai is a 1993 Indian Oriya film directed by Susant Misra. This film reflects the traditional structures of social and family life of a small town in India are growing strongly affected by the progressive urbanization of the country. Three generations of women see their perception of human nature to evolve,as their personal relationships. In their loneliness,they face problems of tradition,culture,religion and manage gender relations. Gradual urbanization and its consequences affect the traditional,social and family structures in a growing small town in India. The story explores the multidimensional conflicts of three women of different generations,their changing perceptions about human nature and personal relationships. Their lonely moments are highlighted in the context of the inexorable flow of time amidst issues of tradition,culture,religion and man-woman relationships.
Akshay Kumar Parija is an Indian film maker known for his depictions of Odia culture and Odissi dance in his films. Originally a banker,he currently lives in Dubai.
Kanhu Charan Mohanty was an Indian Odia language novelist who wrote fifty-six novels in a career spanning over six decades from 1930 to 1985. He is considered "one of the most popular and celebrated novelists of Odisa". Mohanty was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his novel,Kaa,published in 1956,and was one of the fellows of the Sahitya Akademi. Mohanty died on 6 April 1994 at the age of 87.
Basanta Kumari Patnaik was an Odia language novelist,short story writer,playwright,poet and essayist;considered to be one of the pioneers in Odia literature. She became famous for her three novels:Amada Bata,Chorabali and Alibha Chita,among which Amada Bata has been adapted into an Odia film by same name.
Himansu Sekhar Khatua is an Indian director,educationalist,and journalist. He directed the national film award winning movies Sunya Swaroop and Kathantara in 1996 and 2005 respectively. He was the previous managing director from the house of Kalinga Media and Entertainment Private Limited (KMEPL) and also the Ex-CMD of Kalinga TV,a news channel and Knews Odisha,a digital platform.
Binapani Mohanty was an Indian Odia language writer and academician. She was well known for her works such as Patadei and Kasturi Mriga. She was a professor in economics before retiring. She had been awarded Padmashree by the Government of India and Atibadi Jagannatha Das Sammana by Odisha Sahitya Akademi. She had earlier won the Sahitya Akademi Award and Sarala Award. She had served as chairperson of Odisha Lekhika Sansad.
Aswini Kumar Ghose (1892–1962) was an Indian dramatist from Odisha. He is known in Odia literature for his historical plays written in the Odia language based on various Indian historical personalities such as Kalapahad and Tipu Sultan.
Godabarish Mohapatra was a story writer and poet in Odia literature. He was also a journalist of Odisha,best known as the editor of "Niankhunta",a monthly criticism magazine,and "Tuan Tuin",a monthly children's magazine.