Utkala Bhramanam


Utkala Bhramanam is the first original poem by one of the most popular writers of modern Orissa, Fakir Mohan Senapati. It first appeared in 1892. Literally, it means Tour of Orissa. In reality, though, it is not a travelogue but a commentary on the state of affairs in the Orissa of that time. It has two major components. Part of it is a satirical comment on the educated class of Orissa of that time who used to imitate the lifestyle of the British. The significant part, however, is the author's tribute to eminent people of Orissa of that time such as Madhusudan Das, one of the foremost builders of modern Orissa, poet Madhusudan Rao, poet Nanda Kishore Bal and the British civil servants who did considerable work for development of Orissa and survival of Oriya language such as Thomas Edward Ravenshaw and John Beames.
Utkala Bhramanam, for some reason, is not that well-known among people of Orissa, as compared to other works of the writer.