Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
No Result
View All Result
OrissaPOST - Odisha Latest news, English Daily -
No Result
View All Result

Story of Mahanadi river told through lives of people

PTI
Updated: September 26th, 2021, 15:05 IST
in Metro
0
Locals sore over delay in bridge projects across Mahanadi

File pic

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Linkedin

Cuttack: A new novel entwines the tale of the river Mahanadi with the people living on its banks through vignettes of their dynamic lives that are infused with myths, legends and archaeological anecdotes.

Characters like Malati Gond, Neelkantha, Kuber, Bhanu Shitulia, Parvati and others may have never met each other but the story of their lives will remain strung together by the common thread of the ever-flowing Mahanadi.

Also Read

KV Singh Deo

Odisha DyCM launches campaign for promotion of rooftop gardening

3 hours ago
Ashwini Vaishnaw Father

Railway minister’s father dies; Odisha leaders express condolences

8 hours ago

“Mahanadi: The Tale of a River”, written by Anita Agnihotri in Bengali and translated into English by Nivedita Sen, is published by Niyogi Books to coincide with World Rivers Day, which is celebrated every year on the fourth Sunday of September to raise awareness about rivers and to conserve them.

Mahanadi emerges from the plateau of Chhattisgarh and travels through forests, highlands, gorges and the alluvial plains of Odisha to meet the Bay of Bengal near the port of Paradip. For centuries, villages settled on its banks have survived on Mahanadi water for cultivation, weaving, dyeing and pottery, fishing and boating on it.

This novel also sheds light on some of the least developed, poverty-stricken regions of Chhattisgarh and Odisha whose inhabitants struggle to make ends meet. The characters and the landscape keep changing with the winding course of the mighty river. The river plays the dual role of backdrop and central character.

Within the framework of such a unique setting, Agnihotri explores the struggles in the lives of marginalised communities that are oppressed by underhand politics, social privilege and economic disparity.

Among the characters is Kuber, who sets out on a journey to find his mother’s long-lost friend, only to realise about the horrors inflicted by building of the Hirakud dam across the Mahanadi.

Then there is the city-bred, urbane Sumana who experiences an epiphany when she visits the primeval Satkosia gorge wildlife sanctuary on the Mahanadi.

Indranath waits at the Mahanadi’s ghat during Balijatra for his beloved who will finally set him free.

An exceptionally talented weaver, Upamanyu devotes six years of his life to an epic work of art only to realise that he cannot sell it, nor can he go back to the way his life used to be.

And what can ordinary folks like Shyam and Parvati possibly do when faced with the construction of a big steel plant and a private port that threaten the fragile ecosystem of the Mahanadi?

Almost all the stories are set in the rural interiors or coastal areas with the Mahanadi acting as the backdrop.

Mahanadi also penetrates the seamless interface of Adivasi traditions, tantric practices, Buddhist rituals and Hindu superstitions. The author reinvents Asavari, the protagonist of one of the stories in the novel, as the legendary tigress-goddess Bauri Thakurani, known for zealously guarding her young.

Though there is pain, hardship, misery, sorrow and most of all poverty meandering through the narrative of the novel, there is also love, hope, perseverance and beauty shining through it.

PTI

Tags: Anita AgnihotriBhanu ShituliaChhattisgarhKuberMahanadiMalati GondNeelkanthaPARVATIWorld Rivers Day
ShareTweetSendShare
Suggest A Correction

Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox.

 

OrissaPOST epaper Sunday POST OrissaPOST epaper

Click Here: Plastic Free Odisha

#MyPaperBagChallenge

Vandana Singh

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarmistha Nayak

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pitabas Tripathy

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Faiza Firdous

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Narendra Kumar

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Subhajyoti Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Chinmay Kumar Routray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Rajashree Manasa Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Jhili Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tabish Maaz

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Keshab Chandra Rout

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Nishikant Rout

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Mandakini Dakua

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Amritansh Mishra

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akshaya Kumar Dash

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sitakanta Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Shreyanshu Bal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Jyotshna Mayee Pattnaik

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adweeti Bhattacharya

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Priyasha Pradhan

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Praptimayee Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anup Mahapatra

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aman Kumar Barisal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archit Mohapatra

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sibarama Khotei

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Arya Ayushman

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Swarit Praharaj

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ankita Balabantray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adyasha Priyadarsani Sendha

December 12, 2019

Archives

Editorial

Bloodline

BJP-Shiv Sena
July 8, 2025

The coming together of the Thackeray cousins – Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena...

Read more

Acknowledge Failure

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh
July 7, 2025

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh’s candid revelations about Operation Sindoor at a FICCI event ‘New...

Read more

Politics of Philosophy

AAKAR PATEL
July 6, 2025

The BJP’s constitution (Article 3) says, “Integral Humanism shall be the philosophy of the party.” The party’s membership form has...

Read more

India’s Spy Shift

July 5, 2025

India’s espionage architecture is quietly shifting. The appointment of Parag Jain as the new chief of RAW comes at a...

Read more
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Developed By Ratna Technology

© 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

  • News in Odia
  • Orissa POST Epaper
  • Video
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Metro
  • State
  • Odisha Special
  • National
  • International
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Horoscope
  • Careers
  • Feature
  • Today’s Pic
  • Opinion
  • Sci-Tech
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

© 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

    • News in Odia
    • Orissa POST Epaper
    • Video
    • Home
    • Trending
    • Metro
    • State
    • Odisha Special
    • National
    • International
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Editorial
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscope
    • Careers
    • Feature
    • Today’s Pic
    • Opinion
    • Sci-Tech
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs

    © 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST