About Gopalballav Das

 Gopalballav Das was born in 1860,He was the younger brother of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das, one of the patriots and founders of the modern State of odisha. His father was Raghunath Das and mother, Parvati Devi. Having passed M.A. examination from Calcutta University, he was appointed a Deputy Magistrate by the Government, the most covetable job for any Indian in those days under the English ruler. When the minor king of Keonjhar was installed on the thronej Gopalballav Das worked as superintedent of that State.

It was during his stay at Keonjhar that he came in contact with the tribal communities and wrote his only and now available novel Bhima Bhuniya. If not for anything else. Gopalballav Das is well remembered for this novel alone.By temperament he was a traditionalist. He wrote poetical works like Usha, Taraksamhar and Konark and he is credited with the composition of several lyrics. The odia novel as a literary phenomenon was a thing of the closing years of the nineteenth century and of the beginning of the twentieth.

The novel in the proper sense was introduced by Fakirmohan Senapati towards the close of the nineteenth century and Gopalballav Das was one among those who practised the art of writing novels and in the process he wrote the novel Bhima Bhuniya (written in 1896 and first published in Sept. 1908 from Edward Press, Cuttack) which has a unique theme in that it is based on the life and society of the Bhuniyas of Keonjhar.

Bhuniyas are the primitive tribe living in the region surrounded by dense forests and mountains. Through the ages these primitive people are known for their simple and unsophisticated way of life, their adherence to tradition and heritage, their loyalty and commitment to the village community system, their marriage system, the sense of chastity of their woman, their love for adventure and romance.

Such a theme whether real or imaginary, served only as a large canvas on which this novelist could depict the social and romance-oriented life of two Bhuniya youths. In a Bhuniya village, Sadhu Sardar had two sons Banasura and Bhima and in the same locality there was Til Sardar whose only darling daughter Chinamali was attracted towards both Banasura and Bhima.

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