Odia is a classical Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha, where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odia is one of the many official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand. The Odia language has various dialects varieties, including the Baleswari Odia, Kataki, Ganjami Odia, Sundargadi Odia, Sambalpuri, Desia and Tribal Community dialects who spoken by the tribals groups in Odisha who adopted the Odia language.
The Odia script is a Brahmic script used to write primarily Odia language and others including Sanskrit and other regional languages. It is one of the official scripts of the Indian Republic. The script has developed over more than 1000 years from a variant of Siddhaṃ script which was used in Eastern India, where the characteristic top line transformed into a distinct round umbrella shape due to the influence of palm leaf manuscripts and also being influenced by the neighbouring scripts from the Western and Southern regions.
The Karan or Karana is a community of writers found in the state of Odisha in India. The post of Karana used to be a professional designation that was occupied by literate peoples. They held Karanam posts in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, where they speak Odia and played a similar role in Odisha to that of the Kayasthas of West Bengal and Bihar. In the social hierarchy of Odisha they rank next to Brahmins. They exclusively served the ruling powers as their ministers, advisors, governors, military commanders, accountants, record keepers and diwans. They have the highest literacy caste-wise and are highly prosperous. Today they are a politically dominant community and have reigned over the politics of Odisha for 50 years.
The Gajapati dynasty, also called the Suryavamsa dynasty or Routray dynasty, was a medieval Hindu dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, originally from the region of Trikalinga. At its peak, it ruled over an empire stretching from the Ganges in the north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south, comprising large parts of Andhra Pradesh and western regions of West Bengal. It succeeded the Eastern Gangas.
The Kalinga script or Southern Nagari is a Brahmic script used in the region of what is now modern-day Odisha, India and was primarily used to write Odia language in the inscriptions of the kingdom of Kalinga which was under the reign of early Eastern Ganga dynasty. By the 12th century, with the defeat of the Somavamshi dynasty by the Eastern Ganga monarch Anantavarman Chodaganga and the subsequent reunification of the Trikalinga(the three regions of ancient Odra- Kalinga, Utkala and Dakshina Koshala) region, the Kalinga script got replaced by the Siddhaṃ script-derived Proto-Oriya script which became the ancestor of the modern Odia script.
The Madala Panji is a chronicle of the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha, India. It describes the historical events of Odisha related to Lord Jagannath and the Jagannath Temple. The Madala Panji dates from the 12th century.
Odia literature is 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.
MahapurusaAchyutananda Dasa (Odia:-ଅଚ୍ୟୁତାନନ୍ଦ ଦାସ ) was a 16th-century poet seer and Vaishnava saint from Odisha, India. He was considered to have the power to see the past, present and future. He was a prolific author, and one of the group of five, that led a revolution in spirituality in Odisha by translating Sanskrit texts into the Odia language for common people.
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.
Sambalpuri is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as Kosali, a recently popularised but controversial term, which draws on an association with the historical region of Dakshina Kosala, whose territories also included the present-day Sambalpur region.
The Bengali–Assamese script, sometimes also known as Eastern Nagari, is an eastern Brahmic script, primarily used today for the Bengali and Assamese language spoken in eastern South Asia. It evolved from Gaudi script, also the common ancestor of the Odia and Trihuta scripts. It is commonly referred to as the Bengali script by Bengalis and the Assamese script by the Assamese, while in academic discourse it is sometimes called Eastern-Nāgarī. Three of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic—Bengali, Assamese, and Meitei—commonly use this script in writing; Bengali is also the official and national language of Bangladesh.
Pandit Godabarish Mishra was a poet and notable socialist from Odisha, India. He is known for his contribution to Odia literature.
Gopala Chandra Praharaj was a writer in the Odia language, well known as the compiler of the Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha. He also contributed significantly to Odia literature by his works in prose. A lawyer by profession, Praharaj wrote several satirical and analytical essays, in magazines such as Utkal Sahitya, Rasachakra, Nababharata, and Satya Samachar, on the social, political and cultural issues of contemporary Odisha (Odisha) during early 20th century.
Pandit Nilakantha Das (1884-1967) was one of the most illustrious sons of Odisha, who appeared both in its political and literary arena at the most crucial period of its history, when Odisha had no political identity in the map of India, and Odia as a language was about to be extinct. He worked relentlessly for Odisha's recognition both politically and linguistically, and helped bring to fruition the dreams of Utkala Gaurab Madhusudan Das, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das and all other Odia loving people.
Debi Prasanna Pattanayak is an Indian professor, linguist, social scientist and author. He was the founder-director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore and former chairman of Institute of Odia Studies and Research, Bhubaneswar. Pattanayak was awarded Padma Shri in 1987. for his contribution to formalize, and adding Bodo language in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India. He also take a major role led Odia language to acquire the status of a "classical language".
Karan Kayastha is a community of Kayasthas that inhabit Orissa and the Mithila region, a region now divided between India and Nepal.
Padmasri Satyanarayana Rajguru (1903-1997) was an Indian litterateur, epigraphist and historian. He was a curator and epigraphist at the Odisha State Museum and was a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Bharati Bhushan award, Ganjam Sahitya Sammilani award, Odisha Sahitya Academy Award and Sarala Sanman. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1974.
The Gaudi script, also known as the Proto-Bengali script or the Proto-Oriya script is an abugida in the Brahmic family of scripts. Gaudi script gradually developed into the Bengali-Assamese, Odia, and Tirhuta script.
Desia, also Desiya, Kotia, Adivasi Odia, Desia Odia or Koraputia or Southwestern Odia, is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Malkangiri districts Odisha and in the hilly regions of Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh. The variant spoken in Koraput is called Koraputia.
Mukura was a 20th century Odia magazine. It was founded by Brajasundar Das in 1906 in Cuttack, Odisha and was published for about 25 years, with its last issue in 1930. Brajasundar Das was the editor of this magazine. It cost Rs. 2 at the time.
