Echoes of Hunger and Eco-Colonisation: A Literary Reclamation in Odia Discourse

Introduction

In the wake of hunger, ecological exploitation, and cultural alienation, a potent literary movement emerged in Odia literature. Writers began to reclaim a language deeply rooted in nature while chronicling the devastation of nature and the plight of human beings. Their words resonate as both an elegy and a rallying cry against a system that has long disregarded local realities.

Language of Hunger and Alienation

In the late 1980s, as I embarked on the journey of poetry, I encountered a universe steeped in death consciousness and detachment. The prevailing literary trend—steeped in modernism—crafted verses that felt alien. These poems, marked by imported imagery and unidentifiable tunes, bore little semblance to the lived experiences of hunger, distress, and exploitation rampant in Odisha. The resulting poetry felt as if it were penned in a language detached from the pulse of local life.

Eco-Colonisation and Literary Displacement

This modernist discourse—with its borrowed lexicon and abstract sensibilities—reflected what one might call a colonial hangover. It was a detached, middle-class hallucination that failed to capture Odisha’s raw struggle against nature’s commodification. Instead of mirroring the dire reality of environmental degradation, hunger, and displacement, this literature often glorified an aesthetic that was both distant and disembodied.

Key Aspects:

• Imported Imagery: The modernists emulated Western figures like T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, distancing their literary creations from indigenous traditions.
• Eco-Colonisation: There emerged a narrative where nature was exploited for profit, while the voices of the land—its hunger and its suffering—were silenced.

Reclaiming a Nature-Infused Literary Tradition

For centuries, Odia literature celebrated nature and life’s organic rhythms. Poets like Radhanath Roy and Gangadhar Meher fashioned verses in which nature was not merely a backdrop, but a living, breathing companion in human emotion and struggle.

• Fakir Mohan Senapati chronicled the brutal realities of land struggles and colonial exploitation.
• Bhima Bhoi gave voice to universal spiritualism and tribal identity.

Yet, the post-independence era saw these native modes increasingly sidelined as modernist influences took hold—a detachment that felt overly stylized and profoundly unrooted.

Voices of Resistance and Renewal

By the 1990s, a new wave of activist literature burst forth, forged in the crucible of mass movements against corporate and governmental exploitation. In districts like Kalahandi, Balangir, and Sambalpur, communities rallied to protect sacred lands and natural resources against mining and industrial incursions.

• Women and Dalit writers emerged with bold narratives on gender justice and class struggles.
• Activist voices from displaced and marginal communities challenged the established literary order, infusing their works with the immediacy of struggle and the call for climate justice.
• Contemporary novels, such as Bhima Prusty’s Samudra Manisha and Jambudweep, vividly portray the human cost of climate change and coastal erosion.

Conclusion

The evolution of Odia literature—from the alienation of modernist experiments to the grounding force of nature and grassroots struggle—charts a journey of reclamation. Today’s writers reject detached aesthetics in favor of a people-centric, ecologically aware narrative. Their works, thriving on the language of hunger and eco-colonisation, not only document destruction but also assert a powerful vision for a future where nature and human dignity are inseparable. This resilient literary tradition stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who continue to fight for their land and rights.