Creativity and the Left Cultural Movement in Orissa, c. 1930–40

During the l930s we notice a narrowing down of the gap between town and country, and between the world of the common people and the middle-class Oriya intelligentsia.1 What also needs to be emphasized is that many of the writers were militant political activists, very closely involved with the anti- imperialist/feudal struggle in Orissa. Consequently, what we see in this phase is a blurring of categories like ‘intellectual’, ‘political activist’ and ‘writer’, over the decade 1930–40. In this phase, in the writings of Rama- prasad Singh, we witness a serious concern for the poor peasants, whereas in the works of Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi and Sachidananda Routroy, a host of issues related to the ‘internal order’ of exploitation – ranging from the problems affecting the peasants and tribals to gender – are raised. Not only do the peasants and tribals appear as central characters, but they also think critically, question and seek to change the order of things. We also have poets like Banchanidhi pondering over the links between swaraj and the peasants.