Kalindi Charan Panigrahi’s “Salt of the Earth”: A Deep Dive into the Hidden Gem of Odia Literature
What you should know and why you should read it. (For a TL;DR version of the essay, scroll to the bottom.)
Tolstoy writes,
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.
Kalindi Charan Panigrahi’s book Matira Manisha (Man of the Soil), collaboratively (re)translated into English by Leelawati Mohapatra, Paul St-Pierre, and K.K. Mohapatra as Salt of The Earth (2022), follows the Pradhan family as it cruises through happiness, sorrow and everything in between. However, before delving into the woes of the Pradhan family, one must learn about the literary and social background that inspired Panigrahi’s work, to gaina better understanding of why this remains one of the most important reads of modern Indian literature of all time.
A cursory glance at the history of Odia literature will tell you that the most widely read creations are the religious scriptures and Puranas. That said, over the years only a few have dared to compete with that sort of popularity, most notably Fakir Mohan Senapati with his social reformist works. There is no doubt that Senapati’s literary genius demands a long-drawn discussion of its own, but we do not delve into that in this essay. Nevertheless, the seed of social realism sown by him in the late ’90s flourished through the turbulent socio-political developments of pre-Independence India (especially through 1920–47). Consequently around 250 novels were produced, most of which drew themes from everyday life to address contemporary socio-economic issues like poverty, discrimination, injustice, and oppression. As late Prof. Jatindra Mohan Mohanty points out, the freedom struggle led by Gandhi, the Bolshevik revolution, and Soviet Russia along with Marxist ideas had a powerful influence on the youth of Odisha, resulting in the birth of two youth-led literary movements, namely ‘Sabuja Andolana’ (The Green Movement) and ‘Nabajuga Sahitya Sansada’ (The Literary Association of The New Age).
Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, still an impressionable undergrad, was one of the leading members of the Sabuja Andolana, who went on to make an identity beyond the genre of romantic poetry (and later prose) the Sabuja stood for. His novels like Kaa, Adina Megha (Aseasonal Cloud), Amada Bata (The Untrodden Path), and Matira Manisha (Man of the Soil) gained immense popularity, so much so that they were all adapted into popular Odia films and are admired to this day as the classics that helped create Odia cinema’s own unique identity. Interestingly, ‘Matira Manisha’ is the first film directed by the decorative Mrinal Sen outside of Bengal and won the national award for the best feature film in Odia in 1966. However, in comparison to the book, which never went out of print unlike most Odia novels since its first publication in 1930, the film fell short of popularity. The apparent reason for this was Sen’s attempt to reimagine Matira Manisha (the text) in light of the communist ideologies which was not favoured by the mass. Regardless, the film has enough left for public viewing to judge what happened. What we do have now at hand, however, is the 2022 book.
Salt of the Earth opens with a bird’s eye view of the universe or should I say a spacecraft camera view because it assumes a much wider scope –
Millions of suns rise and set in the ordered universe, among them our very own, old familiar sun. around each revolve, spinning like tops, countless planets and satellites, among these our celestial body- mother Earth. On its surface, a tiny country — India. Within this country, the state of Odisha; within Odisha, the district of Cuttack; and in this district, on the banks of Birupa, Pradhan colony, an ordinary settlement of ordinary people. In the middle of this colony, Shyam Pradhan’s tiny mud hut. Compared to the vastness of the cosmos, what does it amount to — a speck, an atom — who can say?
It is the first of many instances where Panigrahi zooms in on the lives of a handful of humans as if the rest of the universe does not matter while simultaneously underlining the fact that it is the lives of humans that are the most ordinary in the larger scheme of things.
They were born of the soil, lived on it, lived off it; they built their homes on it and out of it; they dug it and grew paddy on it to keep their body and soul together. earth people, earthlings, mud men, salt of the earth.
In Panigrahi’s vision, the Pradhan colony had remained untouched by the political and religious history of the land, existing as its own entity unbothered by everything except one’s own humanity, with a limited bit of guidance from the Odia Bhagavat (the only book Shyam Pradhan reads). Now, whether Panigrahi contradicts himself here or simply does not consider Bhagavat to be a religious influence warrants an interesting conversation, once again outside the scope of this essay. Nevertheless, the plot revolves around the members of the Pradhan family: Shyam Pradhan and his wife, his elder son Baraju and his wife called ‘Hara Bou’, and the younger son Chakadi and his wife Netramani. They portray a typical Odia farmer household with its daily bickering and sufferings and occasional festivities. Not a lot takes place until Shyam and his wife die of old age. Now, in the absence of the shadow of the old and wise, the family squabbles turn into bigger problems, creating space for the wicked outsiders to influence the family’s partition. Hari Mishra, a corrupt, rich-yet-greedy upper-class man is jealous of Baraju’s virtuous popularity. He feels threatened by the possibility of the have-nots revolting against him under the leadership of Baraju. Things take an interesting turn when Chakadi’s demand for an equal distribution of land left by their father is met with unbreakable resistance from Baraju. Who, above everything else is hell-bent on respecting his father’s wishes and teachings to keep the family intact. Baraju makes a strange counteroffer to Chakadi and walks out with his wife and kids after leaving everything else with Chakadi and his wife. This dramatic departure, described as something right out of the Ramayana has the entire locality in awe of Baraju’s values and determination. However, the book offers an open ending as the younger brother, “full of remorse and repentance, goes looking for the elder brother. not to beg him to return home, but to tag along with him wherever he is headed. Who replies with a gentle admonition: “Chhi, chhi, maichia toka!” (Literally translates to something like: “What a pusillanimous guy!”) which is to be read within context. If they returned home together or parted ways would be found in the sequels Luhara Manisha (Man of Iron) and Ajira Manisha (Today’s Man), which unfortunately remain untranslated.
The theme of the family feud is in no way underexplored for Matira Manisha to be a very popular choice in the category, yet a few things that make it stand out. The first is the microcosmic approach Panigrahi seems to adopt here, he makes use of no external factors (no mention of the British Raj or kings or administrators or freedom fighters) that influence Baraju’s action other than his own judgment of human nature which has left many critics baffling as to how a book written in the throes of political upheaval not mention any of it and still focus on the socio-political issues. At the same time, it does reflect, in a very subtle way, a wide range of themes and ideas, including Gandhian and Marxist ideologies, post-war social conditions, and agrarian culture, all wrapped in a narrative of rustic life discussing traditional family values. Nothing is sensationalized or over-decorated. One could say the book single-handedly stands the peculiar devotion its protagonist shows to his own principles that are equally admired and looked down on as stupidity. Secondly, the language of the book is simple and colloquial, — “the language of clay and wattles”. Although I prefer reading books in the original language if I can, Salt of the Earth is one of those translations that I have no qualms with. The translators have done a commendable job in keeping the Odia spirit alive even in the English medium. To the people who might have already read the original Odia, I suggest reading this version as well.
TL;DR
In Salt of The Earth, a translation of Kalindi Charan Panigrahi’s Matira Manisha, the focus is on the microcosm of the Pradhan family in rural Odisha. This novel, devoid of external political or historical influences, delves deep into human nature, family dynamics, and societal issues. Panigrahi’s approach is refreshingly simple and colloquial, capturing the authenticity of rural life.
The story revolves around the Pradhan family members, depicting their everyday struggles, occasional celebrations, and, ultimately, a family feud that arises upon the deaths of the elder generation. The conflict between elder son Baraju, who values his father’s teachings and unity, and younger son Chakadi, who demands equal distribution of land, forms the core of the narrative. Baraju’s dramatic departure almost mirrors an episode from the Ramayana, earning him admiration in the community.
The book’s unique characteristics include its microcosmic focus, absence of sensationalism, and its ability to subtly touch on themes like Gandhian and Marxist ideologies, post-war social conditions, and agrarian culture. The translators have done an excellent job of preserving the Odia spirit in English.
This reflective and informative analysis appeals to literary enthusiasts, academics, and language enthusiasts interested in Indian and Odia literature, offering a nuanced perspective on this timeless work.
This essay was written by Suhasini Biswal. For more literary content follow The Biblioraptor on our social media.
