Rashmi Rekha Das, OP
Poet Sujata Sahani believes that young poets should take up social issues and focus on problems that concern the common man
India has a long history of poets who have risen up against social and political oppression and have brought in change at the grass-root level. Poets including Bhartruhari, Kabir, Meerabai, Tulsidas, Tukaram, and Thiruvalluvar belong to this long lineage who used their quills to question the established dogmas of their times.
Even in the modern era, the Indian subcontinent has produced poets who stood up to their beliefs and wrote for peace, change, rights, and revolution. Sujata Sahani is one such poet who belongs to that category. She is not a college kid writing about love or relationships, she is intensely aware of the world around her, and is determined to use her voice to create change. Orissa POST talks to the young poetess about her journey in the world of literature so far.
Hailing from Jagatsinghpur, Sujata is a born writer but her family members were not aware of her talent. She used to write poems when her family members were asleep in the light of a lantern.
“In December 2006, the rape and murder of a poor village girl in West Bengal became national news. Singur had turned into a battlefield over land protests against Tata Motors. However, the situation worsened when a land loser’s 16-year-old daughter Tapasi Malik was killed and dumped by Tata’s goons after being raped. This incident left a lasting imprint on my mind and I took my pen to write against the barbarism of the system. I was in Class X when I penned my first poem.”
“What I felt is that I had a voice. And I wanted it to be heard. My passion for my work made me send my poetry to magazines. Of course, at first there were rejections. But soon after, my poems started getting published in magazines like Samadrusti, Sachitra Bijaya, Amrutayan, Akankhya, Pakhighar, Janabadi, Nabanita, Janhabi, Pratima, Nisan and Samaj newspaper’s magazine. I was not a regular writer till 2012. I started contributing to magazines regularly from 2012,” says Sujata who has 100 poems to her credit so far.
‘Bhoka’ and ‘Ki Uttara Deba Kabi’ are her first two poems which got published in the magazine Sachitra Bijaya in 2013. Her first compilation of poems titled ‘Nari Tie Kalama Dhariba Dina’ was published in May, 2017.
Sujata is a source of inspiration. After Class X she discontinued studies for three years. In the meanwhile, she started providing tuitions to schoolchildren to raise funds for her studies. “It’s true that my father did not want me to study further. That’s why I decided to bear my study expenses and started providing tuitions to school students. Three years I spent arranging funds and took admission in Plus II in Kujang College. Later, I did Plus III and post graduation in Oriya literature in SCS College in Puri and Ravenshaw University in Cuttack respectively on my own. After completion of MPhil, I am waiting for PhD registration now. Also, I am working in AIR as an article reader.”
Her all-time favourite poet is the people’s poet Sachi Routray and his poem Konark has made a lasting impact on her. “The poem was all about the plight of 1,200 labourers engaged in the construction of world famous Konark temple. They worked round-the-clock for the temple construction leaving their families for years. But their names did not get mention anywhere in books. All the credit went to the then King. It’s really a true fact”, says the poetess.
Once an active member of Posco Andolan and Vedant Biswa Vidyalaya Birodhi Andolan, she has been felicitated with Yuba Kabi Samman by Akhila Mohan Foundation and Sabda Samman by Nabanita for her contributing poems aiming at nation building. She has also written against Posco projects.
Who is your idol? To this query, Sujata who is the daughter of farmer Subas Chandra and homemaker Namita Sahani says, “Pabitra Mohan Das, Srikant Mohanty and Manmohan Mishra are my inspirations. But Manmohan Mishra is my idol. Pabitra and Srikant sirs helped me shaping my career in the field of literature. They have criticized me and have given tips for my improvisation. Without their support, I could not have achieved success in the field.”
Any message you would like to give to budding writers? “I would like to say that youth mass should not write poems expressing their personal feelings. They should write for the wellbeing of society”, she signs off.
Sujata’s faves
Favourite poet: Sachi Routray
Favourite food: I am not choosy about food
Favourite place: Hill station and rural pockets