Binapani Mohanty

Binapani Mohanty was an Indian writer. She used to write in Odia. She was born on 11 November 1936 in Kendrapada, Bengal presidency. Binapani Mohanty was a renowned writer and educationalist. She was awarded with various awards and honors. Her family used to live in a village near Kendrapada. Her father was Chaturbhuja Mohanty and her mother was Kumudini Mohanty. Her father, Chaturbhuja, was a government servant. Binapani had completed her high school education in 1953. She further studied Economics. She was a graduate by 1957. For her Master’s degree, she attended the Ravenshaw College in Cuttack. She completed her Masters in 1959. 

Binapani Mohanty worked as a lecturer in various colleges. She was a professor in Economics. She also taught in Sailabala Women’s College. She retired from her post as a professor in 1992. Apart from being an academician, she was a renowned writer. She has written various short stories, poems, and plays. Many of her stories have been translated from Odia into various languages like Hindi, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu, and even Russian. She has translated many Russian folk tales into Odia. Binapani Mohanty’s genre of literature is Odia fiction stories.

Her career as a story teller started in 1960. Her literary work Gotie Ratira Kahani was published in 1960.  She is best known for her short fiction stories. Some of her popular stories are Pata Dei, Khela Ghara, Naiku Rasta, Bastraharana, Andhakarara, Kasturi Murga O Sabuja Aranya, and Michhi Michhika. Her short story collection Pata Dei and other Stories is a famous work. Binapani Mohanty won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1990 for this. Pata Dei among this short story collection was published as Lata in Femina in 1986.

The story was so famous that it was telecasted as a series. It was translated into Hindi in 1987. The story was telecasted as a Hindi TV series titled Kashmakash on Doordarshan. One of her stories, Andhkarara Chhai, was also portrayed as a film. The film received a good response. Apart from short stories and poems, she has also written some novels. Her novels collection includes Sitara Sonita, Manaswini and Kunti, Kuntala, and Shakuntala. She has also penned a one-act play. It is titled Kranti.  

Binapani Mohanty has been honored with various prestigious awards. The awards include various literary awards like The Orisa Sahitya Academy Award, Dharitri Award, Gruhini Samaaj Puraskar, and many others. In 2020, she was honoured with Padma Shri. Binapani also held the position of chairperson of Odisha Lekhika Sansad. The renowned writer died on 24 April 2022.