The Person Par Excellence

It was my first meeting with the erudite storyteller and novelist  Late Kanakalata Mohanty. A fair slim and short-statured elderly lady was sitting on a wooden charpoy in the moderately decorated official quarter of her husband at Baripada. Very neatly dressed and well mannered, she looked simply ordinary. But she spoke in her mother tongue Odia with authority. When we started discussing, she could talk about contemporary social values, Odia art and culture, Lord Jagannath, Sri Aurobindo, and Kabiguru Tagore with ease. But I was amazed to learn that she had not read beyond class seven. She was the mistress of a large joint family consisting of ailing old father and mother inlaws, a workaholic husband and her children and inlaws. The odds are piled up on her slender shoulder.

Sometimes adversity brings out the best who brave the situation. The history is kind to the people who do challenge the odds to succeed in the way one believes. And when I looked back at his formative years, I found that she overcame the huge adversity to make an enormous contribution to society.

She was born to a patriarchal Hindu middle-class family of pre-independence India when the education to a girl child is unwelcome. The true nature of reality was harsh, judgemental and punitive. Late Kanakalata had to leave the school from class Seven. Married early, she had to take the burden of a large joint family. Her journey brought her through the years of severe struggle which she endured with the patience of mother earth and humbleness of rain-filled cloud. But back in the recess of her mind, there lied the undying passion to serve the Goddess Sarala, the main deity of her family. Her love for reading and passion for writing grew with the time and became part of her spiritual journey.

The spiritual journey in Odisha usually starts with the worshiping of Lord Jagannath. The Odias are linked to Jagannath like an umbilical cord that links mother with her child. Life and living in Odisha is deeply impacted by Jagannath culture. Late Kankalata became an ardent devotee and acquired vast knowledge on the subject. Her early writings started with jananas (religious prayers). She became a lyricist in All India Radio. She even became a commentator during the famous Rathayatra at Puri. The privilege is only conferred to the person with eloquence and deep knowledge in the Jagannath culture.

She soon started writing stories on social issues like dowry death, adoption, joint family, etc. She wrote more than one hundred stories that were published in different magazines of Orissa and widely acclaimed by the readers. The compendium of stories "Pakhi janmaru parikara" bore her signature as an important writer of her time. She is the author of many novels like " Tribhuja", "Anuradha", "Sudama", Ete Andhara kete Jwala" etc which put an undying mark on Odia literature. Her last novel " Bhakta Bisara Mohanty" based on Jagannath cult was widely admired in the literary circles.

In spite of her numerous accomplishments, she was always down to earth. She was simple, humble and curious to learn which is the hallmark of a creative genius. Her curiosity even at the ripe old age added mysticism to her personality. Her interest to learn the English language even when she was more than 65 years of age, is amazing. She could learn, read and write the language in that advance age.

The Inadequacy informal education had never been a handicap to her. Rather it motivated her to learn. She was a voracious reader. Her problems, the burden of a large joint family was never impeded in her pursuit of literary excellence. Like charcoal transformed into a diamond under extreme stress, she grew in stature. Her patience, preserving and endeavor in the most trying circumstances was remarkable. All these qualities made an ordinary housewife into an extraordinary person and eminent writer. She will remain an example to aspiring writers and guide the present generation to live a life with purpose.