Book Review 

Songs of the Minstrel of Peace

 Chinmay Hota 

Balakrushna Patnaik Srusti Sambhara (Odia)  Compiled by: Dr. Bijayananda Singh  Published by: Bijayinee Publications  Published in February 2021  Pages: 200 Price Rs 200

     When Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, ‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world’ he saw them as lawmakers, statesmen, and philosophers, and ready to change the world as visionaries and prophets. The great Romantic’s idea of a poet finds its match in the life and work of Odia poet and social reformer Balkrushna Patnaik. Born at the time when Odisha had still not fully recovered from the pangs of the Great Na’anka Famine, Patnaik’s childhood and youth coincided with the efflorescence of Odia nationalism and pride for Odia language, the movements spearheaded by stalwarts like Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das and Brajasundar Das among others. Patnaik was so much drawn by the magnetic personality of Madhusudan that he made the great Odia reformer’s teachings his life’s ideals and literary guidepost. 

    

    Going beyond Odisha, the period of the poet’s youth also witnessed many upheavals such as two world wars, the Russian Revolution and other cataclysmic events of the early twentieth century. These events shattered everyone’s faith in humanity and sowed doubt about the kindness in the human soul. That period also marked the high point of colonialism, dominated by the British Empire, on which the sun never set. With the dominance of man by man, blood-letting and a fractured Odia identity playing in his psyche, Balakrushna Patnaik decided to dedicate his life to striving for changing the human heart through his verses and social work. He became a minstrel of harmony, unity and spiritual actualization of fellow human beings. He wrote hundreds of poems reflecting his high ideals, patriotism and yearning for peace, like ‘Ratna Renu,’ ‘Ghara Katha’, ‘Akala Koili,’ to name just a few. His verses always speak of the ethical and spiritual upliftment of society, the nation and humanity at large. His poems ‘Charu Labangalata’, and ‘Fula Baulabeni’ were immensely popular among rural Odia readers, and they have been translated into many other languages. ‘Fula Baulabeni’ was so popular among people that children started addressing the poet by the same name.  

    While Patnaik’s poetic oeuvre is immense, many of his poems are presently not available to readers. The book under review is an attempt to fill the gap by anthologizing three major works of the poet into a single volume. The idea was mooted by Justice Ananga Kumar Patnaik, the retired justice of the Indian Supreme Court and the grandson of the late poet, and brought to fruition with the effort of Editor Dr Bijayananda Singh. Three of his leading works, namely ‘Subha Sankha’, ‘Chira Juhara’ and ‘Pakshira Jati-Prema’ are placed in the volume along with many prefatory notes from reputed critics and littérateurs used during the original publication of the poems. These notes and other correspondences help put his poetry into perspective. 

    The first work ‘Subha-Swapna’ is a long mythological poem covering 121 pages of the book. The other two poems are very small in size in comparison. The poem is built around the theme of oppression of the weak by the mighty, however, themes of unity, peace and spiritual upliftment carry the main narrative forward. The story narrates the sweeping away of the egg hatched by a Kopata bird on the seashore by the King of Waters and the relentless efforts made by the woebegone bird and her partner in bringing the high and mighty to justice.  The helpless birds’ single-minded determination and the mentality not to give in to injustice are pitted against the hubris and naked display of power by the Jalaraj, the king of waves. In the end, the mighty sea has been punished and humiliated by his son-in-law, Lord Vishnu. The story proves that the weak not only enjoy the right to live, but he also has the ability to ensure that. The non-violent and peaceful satyagraha of the birds is what the poet accentuates in this poem, which makes a delectable reading with its simple language and flowing rhyming verse style. 

    The poem ‘Pakshira Jati-Prema’ is a recreation of the longer work, ‘Subha-Swapna’, written in different words and styles with the intent to highlight the ideals that the poet always promoted in his life and work. ‘Chira Juhara’ the other poem of the anthology, is unique in its own way. Forty-five delegates representing various parts of the world (and also Odia alphabets from ‘a’ to ‘khya’) meet in an imaginary conference and present their versions of world peace. The poet feels the world needs to work for these ideals for lasting peace and brotherhood to descend upon a strife-torn world. An English version of the poem titled ‘The Eternal Bow’ was probably circulated among many important personalities of the time, and their views about the ideals spelt out in the poem make interesting reading. All the commentators have reiterated that Patnaik’s ideals echo the cherished goals of the United Nations. Stephen M. Schweble, Director, New York Office, World Federation of United Nations Associations, says about the book, “It imaginatively anticipates the ideals which today are set forth in the charter of the United Nations. As such it is the contribution of both the people of Orissa and the people of the world towards promoting that appreciation of United Nations principles without which world peace is impossible.” 

    Although the poem was published later, the idea of the subject had come to the poet’s mind in a dream way back in 1918. This foresight and anticipation mark the qualities of a visionary, and that brings us back to what Shelley said about the genius of poets.