Rashmi Rekha Das
Today’s women know how to strike a balance between home and work. They are excelling both at home and outside. After playing second fiddle to men for centuries, women have finally come into their own and are proving their mettle like never before. Chhanda Mishra is an epitome of contemporary feminism. She is a woman who is not just revelling in her successful career as a writer and singer, but basking in her successful roles as mother, daughter and wife.
Orissa POST chatted with the writer-cum-singer about her journey so far.
Hailing from Dhenkanal, Chhanda revisited her childhood days when asked how she started writing. “I was in Class VI when I started writing. I had penned a poem for which my friends had made fun of me. The incident prompted me to write for the sake of pleasure without letting others know about my passion,” she said.
To the query as to how she shot to the literary limelight, the author said: “Following my marriage, my hubby Asim Kumar Panda, who is now assistant commissioner of police, inspired me to follow my passion. If you are connected to the process of writing in some way, there is no need to explain to you how important it is to have inspiration. When you are inspired, you consider your project easy to write, and this process captures you so much that you often forget about food and sleep. But if inspiration seems elusive, you feel utterly discouraged, and you can’t do your job at all. My husband proved to be my lucky charm. His continuous inspiration boosted my spirit to follow my passion. ‘Tuma Pain Gapa’, my first write-up on my husband published in a leading daily, brought me kudos. Since then, I have never looked back and started writing for as many as five vernacular dailies. My write-ups like ‘Pila Pain Sathi Tie’, ‘Ahi Sulakhyani’ and ‘Bhinna Manisa’ among others published in the leading daily ‘Dharitri’ earned acclaim from readers across the state. Frankly speaking, I got a new identity as a writer because of Dharitri.”
“Apart from writing for children, I love writing for the elderly. My stories revolve around the plight of old-age people. Our attitude towards senior citizens in India is unfortunate and leaves a lot to be desired. It’s amusing how we stay detached and take a distant view of our seniors as if it is a phase of life that we will never reach. We are so consumed in our daily lives that other than vaguely acknowledging them once in a while, we rarely try to emotionally connect with the elderly who need our support. All they expect from the current generation is a little love and attention and are gladly and graciously prepared to ride into the sunset of their lives. But the reality is harsh. Don’t we hear stories almost daily about how an ageing mother, a father and sometimes both are abandoned by their sons or daughters and left to fend for themselves? Many a times I get calls from people abandoned by their children. They conveyed thanks saying that my articles brought tears to their eyes,” the author said.
“Once I paid a visit to a newspaper office. When I was about to enter the office, a security guard called me from behind and said he loved reading my articles. I was delighted to hear that my articles have won the hearts of common men,” she added.
Chhanda who has penned books like ‘Bhinna Manisa O Ananya Prabandha’ and ‘Ajuru Bajuru Katha”, is also a renowned singer. She has composed and sung all the tracks of the album ‘Madhu Geeti’ based on poems penned by the legendary Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. She is famous for her many bhajans.
Recipient of awards like Godabarisha Sahitya Samman, Nari Kalyan Samman, Oriya Parba Khyudra Galpa Samman, Bhikari Bal Samman, Jhumuka Saraswata Samman, Geet Tarang Biju Patnaik Samman, Nimapara Sahitya Samman among others, Chhanda feels youngsters of the present generation get detached from literature because of television and mobile phones. “In our times, parents used to get weekly magazines like ‘Janha Mamu’, ‘Panchatantra’ and literary magazines to boost our interest in literature. Nowadays, children and youngsters don’t take interest in books. They rather show interest in television – a lethal addiction. In our house, we don’t have a television set because I want my children to get involved in creative things. We buy five newspapers every day so that my kids spend their leisure hours reading creative pieces in newspapers,” said the author.
