Basudevpur: Abhimanyu Behera, a retired teacher, makes his life fruitful by translating and adopting creative pursuits.
Behera is well-known in literary and cultural circles of Bhadrak and Basudevpur. His teaching career spanned 39 years. He started his career as a teacher at the NP High School at Bideipur and retired in 2008.
Awarded as a state-level teacher in 2005 for his contribution to education, Behera made best use of his retirement and has not given up his passion for teaching.
Behera is now the chairman of Phinix Academy Residential School. He also writes poems and translates literary works from Bengali and Malayalam. He is well-known in literary circles in the district for his translations.
When he was at NP High School he received a special training in translation from Malayalam stories, poems and novels from the Regional Languages Institution at Mysore. Till date he has translated five Malayalam books and an equal number of books are ready for publication.
Behera’s literary works include Bhatachora (an anthology of short stories), Samadhi Pathara, Balyakalajiba (translated from Malayalam), Kathhagada (translated from Bengali).
His writings are regularly featured in contemporary newspapers and magazines. He is associated with several literary and cultural institutions of Bhadrak. His book Akhyaya Arnab and short play Sahashra Sirabdha are popular among the readers.
As a leading literary figure in the district, Behera has been honoured by over 50 literary and cultural institutions like the Bhadrak Zilla Lekhaka Samukhya, Rangaranga, Namasya, Baulaphula, Belabhumi Sahitya Pratibha Puja Parishad, Ame Utkaliya, Sagarika and Suasari.
PNN