Introduction of the Poem: In “The Abandoned British Cemetery at Balasore,” which appears in his Selected Poems, Jayanta Mahapatra reflects over the deaths of young British citizens of cholera a hundred and fifty years ago, who are buried in the cemetery at Balasore. This is a poignant and heart rending poem about “the forgotten dead”. … Read more
Summary of the Poem: This poem describes the state of affairs in the town of Puri on the 16th February 1980 when a total solar eclipse had occurred. The day became absolutely dark. The sun’s loss of its light and radiance seemed to show that the sun had become meek and humble. It was the … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “The Moon Moments” is another philosophical poem by Mahapatra. Although the word “moon” could here be interpreted as the beloved, yet it would be perhaps nearer the facts of the case to interpret it as meaning an ideal. The title, namely The Moon Moments means those moments when a human being … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “The Exile” is one of Mahapatra’s philosophical poems. The protagonist in the poem regards himself as an exile. This imagist poem is deeply personal as the protagonist reveals to us his own innermost thoughts. He tries to penetrate the depths of his own mind, besides depicting the scenes around him. … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: This poem shows the dilemma of a person who is invited to visit a brothel. While he wants to find out how a prostitute behaves or how the mind of a prostitute works, the woman immediately gets down to “business” to please him as a “passionless tool” so that she can … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “A Country” (1983) is one of Jayanta Mahapatra’s overtly political poems in which he suggests that suffering is universal, no matter what the social or the political order may be. It is not a poem about some particular country. In fact, it is a comment on all poverty – stricken Asian … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: While in “Dhauli” Mahapatra deals with a significant historical omission, in “Grandfather” (1983) the disasters of the Orissa famine of 1866 are viewed from a biographical perspective. The poet tries to recreate and re – enact the harrowing experience of his grandfather, Chintamani Mahapatra, who was compelled to convert to Christianity … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “Dhauli” (1979) is a sensitive account of the Kalinga War (261 BC) that wiped off thousands of lives to satiate a single individual’s hunger for power. Mahapatra does not hail the power and military exploits of Ashoka. His sympathy reaches out instead to the vanquished and the dead who find no … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: In “Hunger” (from The Rain of Rites, 1976), the dramatic narrative, which unfolds in four taut stanzas, is based on the privations of a poor fisherman who drives his young daughter into prostitution. Hunger for food merges with the hunger for sex as the narrator – protagonist accepts the fisherman’s offer … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “Ghanashyam” appeared in Kamala Das’ Stranger Time (1977). Ghanashyam is another name for Lord Krishna, who used to play, frolic and flirt with women all of whom adored him; they would be ecstatic when they heard the notes he produced on his flute. A married woman Radha fell in love with … Read more