More of Mahapatra

Discovering Mahapatra is not unlike discovering India's deep soul

Earlier this year, Sahitya Akademi inducted Jayanta Mahapatra as one of its 21 fellows, along with three other eminent writers. According to the website of the national academy of letters, this is the highest honour it bestows on any writer, and this privilege is reserved for “the immortals of literature”. Anyone familiar with Indian writing in English or Odia cannot be unaware of Mahapatra, who has written over 40 books, and is the winner of numerous awards. Those curious to read his poetry could have already accessed it in the volume published by Poetrywala in 2017. The book under review