SWABHAB KABI GANGADHAR MEHER
SWABHABA KABI GANGADHAR MEHER
Born: 9 August 1862
Place : Barpali
Died: 4 April 1924 (aged 61)
Pen name: Swabhaba Kabi
Occupation: Judicial Moharir (Accountant)
Language: Odia
Education: Std V
Genres: Poet
Subjects: Devotion
Notable work(s) Tapaswini, Rasa-Ratnakara, Balaram-dev, Pranaya Ballari, Kichaka Badha,
Indumati (First Published work), Ayodhya Drusya, Padmini (Last work)
Spouse(s): Shanta Devi, Champa Devi (After the death of Shanta Devi)
Children: Arjun Meher (died at the age of 12), Bhagaban Meher (Famous as Kabi-Putra),
Basumati Meher, Laxmi Meher
Gangadhar Meher , renowned Odia poet of 19th century also known as Swabhaba Kabi,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 Shravan at Barpali of present day Bargarh district
of Odisha. 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 Odia Ramayan composed by Balaram Das and afterwards he himself read it as well
as the Odia 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.
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 Odisha Social Conference of Mehers with a view to uplifting the entire weaver society. Nearly three thousand
Mehers from different parts of Odisha 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 Odia 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 Odia 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 angles of vision. His writings are like precious jewels in the store room of
Utkal Bharati (Odia language).
GANAGADHAR BOOK AVAILABLE HERE
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