Odia Novel Nilashaila By Surendra Mohanty

1. Odia Novel Nilashaila By Surendra Mohanty

2. Odia Novel Nilashaila By Surendra Mohanty Surendra Mohanty born in Orissa was an award-winning author who wrote in Oriya.He was the President of Orissa Sahitya Academy from the year 1981 to 1987.He was also the first editor, and later chief editor for the newspaper The Sambad.He is a writer of short stories, novels, travelogues, criticism and biographies. He wrote around 50 books belonging to different genres.He was the recipient of the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award for his novel Nilashaila. The most widely read and acclaimed is "Nilasaila" which is contextualized in a crucial period of Orissa's history. The events of the novel take place between the years 1727 and 1736 when Ramachandradev, the king of Khurda who is revered by the people of Orissa as the representative of Jagannath, the presiding deity of the Oriya race, converts himself into Islam and marries the daughter of the Muslim ruler of Cuttack. But when the Muslim ruler of Cuttack invades Khurda and tries to destroy the idol of Lord Jagannath, Ramachandradev fights bravely to protect the idol which symbolizes Oriya identity and sentiment. The novel gives a truthful account of contemporary Orissa, but it is more than history. It is an intense portrayal of the religious and cultural tradition of Orissa which is still an integral part of Oriya racial consciousness.