Assessment of Fakir Mohan Senapati Through the Prisms of Premises He Survived

Abstract

Fakir Mohan lived the time span which is considered as the Dark Age in the history. It was during that period in the year 1866 the most infamous ‘Na anka Famine’ occurred, which rattled disordered and distorted the economic and social backbone of Odisha. To pursue literature in such a difficult time was not so simple a task, when sustenance of life was in question. The grim situations of the period are duly reflected in various short stories and fictions, particularly the ‘Dak Munshi’ and Chhaman Atha Guntha. Fakir Mohan’s fictions and short stories comprise a wide array of themes and subjects to touch all sections of readership… He is the undisputed first Indian author to deal with social realism by introducing rustic characters and pastoral themes. Pure satire and sharp irony are the hallmarks of his writing, which is his unique instrumental technique; besides, his expressive style makes people laugh their hearts out bemused by the content, yet! Within the irony, there always remains an implied sympathy, and a tone of concerned seriousness under the surface of attack. The reason, his fictions have stood the onslaught of time to remain fresh forever with rich human content. The present paper aims to analyse the effects of his fictional writing despite constraints of the age he survived.