Gangadhar Meher
Encyclopedia
Gangadhar Meher renowned Oriya
poet of 19th century also known as Swabhab Kavi,was a literary Midas, who transformed everything into gold by the alchemic touch of his genius. He was a born poet of delicate charm. His was a clean white style. His poem Bhakti (The Devotion) bears eloquent testimony to the change in religious outlook. He was essentially a poet of intuition and side by side he had a penetrating insight. Though poor in wealth and education, he was very rich in mind and culture. In almost all his writings there is a glimpse of originality.
at Barpali of present day Bargarh district of Orissa. Chaitanya Meher was working as a village Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor) besides his family profession of weaving. But as he could not maintain his family with the income of these works, he opened a village school and began to teach a few children. Gangadhar Meher could read up to the Middle Vernacular Standard hurdling over diverse disadvantages, and his excessive desire for reading one day dragged him to the field of writing poems.
As a young boy, he heard the Oriya Ramayan composed by Balaram Das and afterwards he himself read it as well as the Oriya Mahabharata by Sarala Das. He also read and mastered a great number of Sanskrit books; of which ‘Raghubansam’, deserve mention. He had proficiency in Hindi
and Bengali
. Tulsi Ramayan in Hindi used to be held by him in great respect. He used to read Bengali magazines and newspapers. Gangadhar, in his student life, read Sanskrit
.
Gangadhar got himself married at the age of 10. As his father’s pecuniary condition was not satisfactory, Gangadhar used to go to school in the morning and help his father in weaving in the afternoon. The poet’s weaving was as attractive and beautiful as his poetry. For his clear and beautiful hand writing people used to visit him for writing their documents. The pecuniary condition of the family improved a bit due to his hard labour when to the misfortune of the family, the ancestral house caught fire.
The post was very liberal and magnanimous in his social life. During the last age of his life, the poet organized an All Orissa Social Conference of Mehers with a view to uplifting the entire weaver society. Nearly three thousand Mehers from different parts of Orissa assembled in the Conference. The poet put up twelve proposals for the reform of the society and all were passed unanimously.
, which had opened in 1944, was renamed Gangadhar Meher College
in his honour. In 1992, it instituted the Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry which is conferred annually.
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
poet of 19th century also known as Swabhab Kavi,was a literary Midas, who transformed everything into gold by the alchemic touch of his genius. He was a born poet of delicate charm. His was a clean white style. His poem Bhakti (The Devotion) bears eloquent testimony to the change in religious outlook. He was essentially a poet of intuition and side by side he had a penetrating insight. Though poor in wealth and education, he was very rich in mind and culture. In almost all his writings there is a glimpse of originality.
Childhood
Gangadhar was born in 1862 on the full moon day of ShravanShravan
Shravan is a Sanskrit word, which literally means listening.* Shravanam is one of the nine most important angas of bhakti.Shravan Kumar belonged to the time when King Dashratha ruled Ayodhya. He was born of poor and blind parents, but they had brought him up remarkably well. He was strong healthy...
at Barpali of present day Bargarh district of Orissa. Chaitanya Meher was working as a village Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor) besides his family profession of weaving. But as he could not maintain his family with the income of these works, he opened a village school and began to teach a few children. Gangadhar Meher could read up to the Middle Vernacular Standard hurdling over diverse disadvantages, and his excessive desire for reading one day dragged him to the field of writing poems.
As a young boy, he heard the Oriya Ramayan composed by Balaram Das and afterwards he himself read it as well as the Oriya Mahabharata by Sarala Das. He also read and mastered a great number of Sanskrit books; of which ‘Raghubansam’, deserve mention. He had proficiency in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. Tulsi Ramayan in Hindi used to be held by him in great respect. He used to read Bengali magazines and newspapers. Gangadhar, in his student life, read Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
.
Gangadhar got himself married at the age of 10. As his father’s pecuniary condition was not satisfactory, Gangadhar used to go to school in the morning and help his father in weaving in the afternoon. The poet’s weaving was as attractive and beautiful as his poetry. For his clear and beautiful hand writing people used to visit him for writing their documents. The pecuniary condition of the family improved a bit due to his hard labour when to the misfortune of the family, the ancestral house caught fire.
Career
The then Zamindar of Barpali, Lal Nruparaj Singh offered him the post of an Amin (Patwari). Coming to learn of amicable behaviours and good virtues of Gangadhar, the Zamindar promoted him to the post of a Moharir. He continued to serve in the said post and was transferred to Sambalpur, Bijepur and Padmapur and at last transferred to him own native place Barpali on a salary of Rs. 30/- P.M.The post was very liberal and magnanimous in his social life. During the last age of his life, the poet organized an All Orissa Social Conference of Mehers with a view to uplifting the entire weaver society. Nearly three thousand Mehers from different parts of Orissa assembled in the Conference. The poet put up twelve proposals for the reform of the society and all were passed unanimously.
Literary career
Gangadhar started composing poems from a very tender age. His first writings follow the style and technique of the ancient Oriya writers. His first Kavya (poetic work) was “Rasa-Ratnakara”. Then being persuaded by some friends he changed his ways and wrote poems and kavyas in the modern Oriya style. Kabibar Radhanath Ray praised his writing very much. Then Gangadhar Meher produced innumerable writings that have no parallel in point of sweet imaginativeness, in beauty and clarity of language, in the novelty of style, in point of forceful character painting and in the lively description of nature from different angels of vision. His writings are like precious jewels in the store room of Utkal Bharati (Oriya language).Gangadhar Meher College
In 1949, Sambalpur College in SambalpurSambalpur
Sambalpur is a city in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Orissa.It lies at a distance of 321 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. In the year 1876, Sambalpur was established as a municipality. It is currently the headquarters and the largest city of Sambalpur district. It is also...
, which had opened in 1944, was renamed Gangadhar Meher College
Gangadhar Meher College (Autonomous), Sambalpur
Gangadhar Meher College , Sambalpur was established in 1944 as Sambalpur College. This institution is popularly known as GM College Sambalpur. Later the name of the institution was changed to Gangadhar Meher College in 1949 after the name of the illustrious Oriya Poet...
in his honour. In 1992, it instituted the Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry which is conferred annually.