User:LivingIsLife/Bama Charan Mitra

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Bama Charan Mitra (17 December 1915 - 21 February 1975) was a popular Odia writer known for his short stories, essays, and novels. He began his writing career late in life and produced approximately 100 short stories, a book of essays, a few novels, and translations of books by famous writers from other languages into Odia between 1950 and 1975. In 1950, Mitra's first story, "Mahan Juddha," won the first prize in an all-Odisha short story competition and brought him recognition from established writers and literati. His first publication, "Kirtijasya," (Whose Glory) was a collection of stories featuring a character based on Sherlock Holmes, and his last work, "Thapire Kaha Tathapire," (Speak, but carefully) was a posthumously published short memoir combining memory with fiction.

Bama Mitra was a student of liberal arts who graduated from high school at Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack, Odisha, and received his BA at Ravensahw College and his law degree at Patna University in India. He was an accomplished swimmer and field hockey player, and set a swimming record for the state of Odisha in 1933 that remained unbroken until 1980. After working as a clerk in the British Colonial Government of India, he switched to the legal services of Odisha before beginning a career in administrative services, eventually retiring after serving the Government of Odisha in post-independent India. Despite his high-ranking position, Mitra faced financial difficulties and hardship in providing for his family in Bhubaneswar after his retirement. He was known for his honesty, straightforwardness, administrative skill, discipline, and work ethic among his colleagues and superiors, and admired for his friendliness, empathy, unique writing style, breadth of knowledge, and spirituality by his literary peers. He was well-read in a variety of subjects, including economics, history, science, sports, classics, and the scriptures of major religions. He was highly respected by his contemporaries for his extensive knowledge and was considered by some to be more of a philosopher than a literary writer. Akhil Mohan Pattanaik, a Sahitya Academy winner, commented that Mitra had studied social sciences, history, and literature "in such depth and breadth that often, while discussing anything in such topics, I used to fall short." Mohapatra Nilamani Sahoo, a Sahitya Academy and Sarala Award winner, described him as "such a lively person, such a friendly person, such truth seeking, such heart of empathy, full of humor, spiritually awakened, such a revolutionary," and Gopinath Mohanty, a Padma Bhushan and Jnanpith winner, called him "a genuine person of the society." Mohanty also noted that Mitra's writing was not simply for entertainment, but rather "he used to express his opinion by discussing what he found lacking in the state of social, moral and political conditions of the day... He did not write unless he had something to say."

Early life
Bama Charan Mitra was born on December 17, 1915, in the village of Purusottampur (Baruhan) in Odisha, India. He was the sixth child of nine born to Krushna Chandra Mitra and Sarada Mitra.

Mitra's ancestors were part of a group of Bengali families who migrated to Odisha in the 15th century with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Hindu mystic and saint who is considered the chief proponent of the Achintya Bheda Abheda and Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. They settled in villages along the way and became an integral part of Odisha, developing a new dialect that combined Bengali and Odia languages, sometimes referred to as "Kera Bengali".

Bama Charan's father was a clerk (Peskar) at the court in Cuttack, and Bama spent most of his childhood and student life there. He attended Nirman Elementary School, Ravenshaw Collegiate Middle and High School, and graduated in 1933. Despite the family's lower-middle-class status, Bama had friends from all sections of the society. Mitra learned in Odia as a child and considered himself to be an Odia. He went on to become one of its eloquent exponents.

College
Bama Mitra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ravenshaw College after completing high school at Ravenshaw Collegiate School. Both institutions were prestigious educational establishments in pre-independent India, and were attended by many notable figures, including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Biju Pattanaik. During this time, Bama was in close contact with many people who would go on to become prominent figures in various fields (Biju Pattanaik, Gopinath Mohanty, Pranabandhu Kar, Surendra Mohanty, Faturananda, J. M. Joardar, Manmohan Choudhury, Khitish Chandra Maitra and many more).

In college, Bama Mitra excelled in sports, particularly in swimming and field hockey. He won the state championship in swimming and set a record in 1933 that remained unbroken until 1980 (Ravenshaw College Calendar 1948-49, Page 138 records his timing for 400 meter free style swimming in 1933 at 4 min 46 sec). He was also known for his bravery and selflessness, as he would often jump into dangerously flooded rivers to save people and animals without thinking about his own safety. There are also stories of Bama Mitra and Biju Pattanaik cycling to Ramgarh Congress from Cuttack in 1940, and other adventures.

Pranabandhu Kar has written about how he and Bama fought against a British administrator in Cuttack over a certain issue. Other friends have also shared stories of their camaraderie and adventures during this period. Some of Bama Mitra's short stories are believed to be based on his experiences during this time, and a few of his stories are also based on his experiences in Patna, Bihar, where he pursued and completed his LLB degree in 1941.

Personal life
In 1944, Bama Mitra married Prativamai Sinha, who lived a few houses away from his home in the village of Baruhan. His last writing, "ThapiRe Kaha TathapiRe" (Speak, but carefully), captures and narrates the circumstances surrounding his marriage. Both Bama and Prativamai came from lower-middle-class backgrounds. At the time of their marriage, Bama Mitra had just started working and had a monthly salary of only 40 rupees (about $5 at the time). Prativamai had not completed high school as girls during that time were not encouraged or supported to pursue education. Nevertheless, she was hardworking, believed in building a strong family, and was intelligent. She managed the family and allowed Bama Mitra to pursue his intellectual interests. Bama Mitra acknowledged that a large part of his success was due to being relieved of any family responsibilities throughout his life.

In the first half of his career, Bama Mitra and his family had to frequently move as he was a Magistrate in various districts of Odisha. As a result, his stories have flavors of people, culture, and practices from these places.

Writer
Bamacharan's writings have been admired by both ordinary readers and critics for their captivating elements and the free-flow of discussion that often accompanies them. Principles, tenets, philosophies, and theories (some established and some original) on topics such as human nature, society, life, art, science, religion, and culture are seamlessly woven into the plot of the story in such a way that it is difficult to determine whether the story was conceived based on these principles or whether the principles emerged from the story. The reader is drawn in by the drama and humor of the story and finds the discussions on principles and philosophies to be natural, enlightening, and liberating. As a result, some Odia litterateurs have recognized Bamacharan's writing as having timeless value and constituting an independent style. Inaugurating an all-day seminar organized by Indian Sahitya Academy to celebrate his birth centenary, noted poet Ramakanta Rath (Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Academy winner) said, "Since Bamacharan's stories have all elements of story telling, they transcend time and are enjoyed by all generations."

While some of Bama Mitra's books were published during his lifetime, a significant number of his works were compiled and published posthumously by Odia litterateurs and publishers. A partial list of his early books published between 1950 and 1970 includes "Kirtijasya," "Nara Chanchana," "Swapnasiddha," "Pasana Ra Prana," "Asima," and "Bata Mahapurusha." Books published between 1970 and 2000 include "Enuscha Tenuscha," "Mitra Galpa," and "Mitra Kalpa." More recent books published between 2000 and 2019 include "Galpa Samagra 1 & 2," "Rachana Samagra 3&4," "Galapa Sambhara," "Srujana Sambhara," and "Chayanika." A full list with references can be found in the list of works section below. Many Odias have grown up reading Bama Mitra's stories, such as "Mimi Ra Sahitya Sikhsha" (Mimi Learns Literature) and "Holi," which have been part of the high school curriculum in Odisha for decades. Others have encountered his work through college and university recommended readings like "Chandra O Champa" (Moon and Champa) or through research for their PhD. His stories were eagerly anticipated by readers of popular Odia literary magazines such as "Jhankara," "Manasa," "Dagara," and "Utkala Sahitya," as evidenced by letters to him from remote parts of Odisha. Some of his stories have been published and acclaimed outside India, for example, Laddu (Sweetmeat, The Table is Laid: The Oxford Anthology of South Asian Food Writing, Gender and Masculinities: Histories, Texts and Practices in India and Sri Lanka by Assa Doron and Alex Broom), Pita O Putra (Padre e hijo, Spanish), Nimantrana (Invitation, Russian), Bamacharan Mitra on Life and Art by J. M. Joardar (Indian Literature, Sahitya Academy, JSTOR)

Bama Charan Mitra began writing late in life and had a relatively short career before his sudden demise at the age of 59. Despite this, he made a significant contribution to Odia literature, producing some of his best and most memorable stories towards the end of his life to make a unique place for himself in Odia Literature. Many critics lamented that he passed away just as he was starting to reach the peak of his career and wondered how much stronger he could have made Odia literature if he had lived for a few more years. After his death, Mitra was posthumously recognized by the Odisha Sahitya Academy for his only book published within the time frame for recognition at the time, "Enuscha Tenuscha", and he was later inducted into the Odisha Hall of Fame for Literature. In 2015, the Central Sahitya Academy of India organized a national seminar to celebrate the birth centenary of Bama Charan Mitra under the chairmanship of famous Odia poet, Ramakanta Rath.

Final years and Death
Mr Wells is a born storyteller who has sold his birthright for a pot of message

Political views
Wells called his political views socialist. His contemporary political impact was limited, however, excluding his fiction's positivist stance on the leaps that could be made by

Religious views
Wells wrote in his book God the Invisible King (1917) that his idea of God did not draw upon the traditional religions of the world:

Literary influence
notes his work has been central to both British and American science fiction.