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FACTS
of ORIYA Language
Language
spoken in INDIA
Total Oriya Speakers 31,666,000
Regulated by Language Academy
Language of Orissa Oriya & Munda
HISTORY
Oriya
is an Indo-Aryan Language spoken mostly in the State of
Orissa. This is also an official language of India. It is
pronounced as ODIA. It is written in Oriya alphabet.
Oriya is an Indo-Aryan language and is thought to be directly
descended from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit known as Magadhi or Pali which was
spoken in Eastern India over 1,500 years ago. It bears a very
strong resemblance to the modern languages, Bangla (Bengali)
and Ahomiya (Assamese). Of all the languages spoken in
northern India, Oriya appears to be least influenced by
Persian and Arabic.
Oriya
has a rich literary heritage dating back to the thirteenth
century. Sarala Das, who lived in the fourteenth century is
known as the Vyasa of Orissa. During the fifteenth and
sixteenth century, the works of Jayadeva and Chaitanya gained
prominence. Upendra Bhanja was another outstanding poet of
that period. Distinguished writers of the modern period
include Fakir Mohan Senapati, Manoj Das, Kishore Charan Das,
Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, and Gopinath Mohanty.
Oriya
has traditionally had a strong Buddhist and Jain influence.
The
history of Oriya language is divided into Old Oriya (10th
century-1300 AD), Early Middle Oriya (1300-1500 AD), Middle Oriya
(1500-1700 AD), Late Middle Oriya (1700-1850 AD) and Modern Oriya
(1850 till present day). Oriya literature upto 1500 AD mainly
covers poems and proses with religion, gods and goddesses as
the main theme. The earliest use of prose can be found in the
Madala Panji or the Palm-leaf Chronicles of the Jagannatha
temple at Puri, which date back to the 12th century. The first
great poet of Orissa is the famous Sarala Das who wrote the
Chandi Purana and the Vilanka Ramayana, both praising the
goddess Durga. Rama-bibha, written by Arjuna-dasa, is the
first long poem in Oriya language.
The
next era is more commonly called the Jagannatha Dasa Period
and stretches till the year 1700. The period begins with the
writings of Shri Chaitanya whose Vaishnava influence brought
in a new evolution in Oriya literature. Balarama Dasa,
Jagannatha Dasa, Yasovanta, Ananta and Acyutananda were the
main exponents in religious works in Oriya. The composers of
this period mainly translated, adapted, or imitated Sanskrit
literature. A few prominent works of this period include the
Usabhilasa of Sisu Sankara Dasa, the Rahasya-manjari of
Deva-durlabha Dasa and the Rukmini-bibha of Kartikka Dasa. A
new form of novels in verse evolved during the beginning of
the 17th century when Ramachandra Pattanayaka wrote Haravali.
Other poets like Madhusudana, Bhima, Dhivara, Sadasiva and
Sisu Isvara-dasa composed another form called Kavyas or long
poems based on themes from Puranas. The language used by them
was plain and simple Oriya.
However,
from the turn of the 18th century, verbally tricky Oriya
became the order of the day. Verbal jugglery, obscenity and
eroticism became the trend of the period between 1700-1850,
the most notable poet being Upendra Bhanja (1670-1720). Other
poets turned up in hordes to imitate him but none could fit
into his shoes, with the exceptions of Bhima-Bhoi and
Arakshita Dasa. Family chronicles in prose and literature
relating religious festivals and rituals also covered a large
portion of this period.
The first Oriya printing typeset was cast in 1836 by the
Christian missionaries. The actual Oriya script closely
resembled Bengali and Assamese scripts but the one adopted for
the printed typesets were completely different, leaning more
towards the Tamil script.
Three great poets and prose writers, Rai Bahadur Radhanatha
Ray (1849-1908), Madhusudana Rao (1853-1912) and Phakiramohana
Senapati (1843-1918) settled in Orissa and made Oriya their
own. They brought in a modern outlook and spirit into Oriya
literature. Around the same time the modern drama took birth
in the works of Rama Sankara Ray beginning with Kanci-Kaveri
(1880).
Writers in Oriya include Nanda-kisora Bal, Gangadhara
Mehera, Chintamani Mahanti and Kuntala-Kumari Sabat
Utkala-bharati (quite tongue-twisting!), besides Niladri Dasa
and Gopabandhu Dasa (1877-1928). The most notable novelists
were Umesa Sarakara, Divyasimha Panigrahi, Gopala Praharaja
and Kalindi Charana Panigrahi. Sachi Kanta Rauta Ray is the
great introducer of the ultra-modern style in modern Oriya
poetry. Others who took up this form were Godavarisa Mahapatra,
Dr Mayadhara Manasimha, Nityananda Mahapatra and Kunjabihari
Dasa. Prabhasa Chandra Satpati is known for his translations
of some western classics apart from Udayanatha Shadangi,
Sunanda Kara and Surendranatha Dwivedi. Criticism, essays and
history also became major lines of writing in the Oriya
language. Esteemed writers in this field were Professor Girija
Shankar Ray, Pandit Vinayaka Misra, Professor Gauri Kumara
Brahma, Jagabandhu Simha and Hare Krushna Mahatab. Oriya
literature mirrors the industrious, peaceful and artistic
image of the Oriya people who have offered and gifted much to
the Indian civilization in the field of art and literature.
Tribal
Languages of Orissa
Munda:
There are several tribal groups inhabiting a broad belt in
central & eastern India, speaking various Munda languages
of the Austro-Asiatic stock. They were approximately 90,00,000
in the late 20th century.
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