Baladev Rath

Kabisurya(transliterated alternatively as Kavisurya, Kabisurjya) Baladeba Rath (c. 1789 – 1845) (Odia: କବିସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ ବଳଦେବ ରଥ) was an Odia poet and litterateur. He wrote in both Sanskrit and Odia and is remembered for his devotional songs and as the founder of the Dhumpa Sangita.^[1]

Early life

He was born in Badakhemundi of Ganjam. His father Ujjwala Rath was well versed in scriptures and a was poet laureate. Baladeba Rath's mother died when he was aged on ten years. He was brought up by his maternal grand father at Khallikote who also taught him Sanskrit and Odia literature for the first time. He married at the age of 15. After the death of his father he moved to the nearby Jalantar state. The prince of Jalantara, Rama Chandra Chotray encouraged his literary creations and gave him the title "Kabi-Surya", meaning 'Sun among poets.'

Literary works

Rath was a musician and scholar in his own right. He wrote in the Vaishnavite tradition and the group of writers including Dinakrushna Das and Abhimanyu Samantasinghar to which he belonged have been criticised for their verbosity and convoluted diction but also credited for their emotionally rich and alliterative poetic works that continue to appeal to the masses even today.^[2] Among his important works are the Kavisurya Granthavali, Kavisurya Geetabali and the Kishore Chandrananda Chaupadi Chautisa which combines the two literary forms of chaupadi, a quatrain, and the chautisa- a 34 stanza poem where every stanza begins with a new letter of the Odia alphabet. The Kishore Chandrananda Champu is noted for its emotional tenderness and the role it played in infusing the riti school of Sanskrit writing with a new style and aesthetic sensibility. He was also the author of several champus including the Ratnakar champu and the Kishore Chandrananda Champu.^[3][4] The Kishore Chandrananda Champu has been written in a mixture of Odia and Sanskrit and the Odia part of the work has been credited with cementing his literary reputation in the language.^[2]

A person singing the "kehi sariki, prabhu pane nilādrī keśarīki" poem of Baladeba Rath

Dhumpa sangita

Rath is thought to have invented the dhumpa, a bamboo percussion instrument, that accompanies the Odia folk art form of dhumpa sangita. The dhumpa accompanies recitations of his poetic satires which are called dhumpa geet.^[5][6] Many of his poetic pieces, especially the champus are often set to dance in Odissi.^[7][8][9]

Death and commemoration

Rath died at Athgarh in 1845.^[3] Dasarathi Das' Kavisurya Baladeva Rath is a biography that examines his life and contributions to Indian literature.^[10] Kavisuryanagar, formerly Boirani, a town in Ganjam district has been named in honour of Rath.^[11]

References