Sukanta Rout

SUKANTA ROUT,

JAJPUR ROAD,JAJPUR,ODISHA,INDIA,

EMAIL: [email protected]

I was born on June 13, 1963. I grew up in a village surrounded by forests, farmlands and rolling hills on all sides. My father was headmaster of village middle school where I studied till seventh class. My mother was a home maker who cared more about our education. I have two younger sisters and a younger brother. We had a large joint family consisting of uncles, aunts, several siblings of theirs, a grandfather, a grandmother.

My grandfather was a freedom fighter who had courted jail for sake of our country and who had latter declined the offer of pension saying, “Shall I take remuneration for whatever I have done for my country? “He always taught us Gandhi’s philosophy. My grandmother had immense wealth of thrilling stories, cautiously tying them in a knot in the hem of her sari that she untied only when we insisted. Bears from forest came visiting to our back yard at night. We had a great fun in chasing them away with my friends.

I have never left my village except when I was doing my M.A in English in Ravenshaw College at Cuttack and that was only for two years that too was punctuated with casual home-comings in holidays. I still stay in my tiny little village and watch and enjoy the evening sun sinking down behind the hill, sitting in the meadow at the edge of forest.

These days, I daily commute to my college, a two hours away from my home split by motorbike,train and bus, where I teach English language and English literature. I’m too a theater activist. All the year round I conduct theater workshops and pen and produce plays. Besides, I contribute articles as a freelancer to English dailies and journals and edit a newspaper named “The Indus Valley Times.” Whatever time I’m left after all these chores, I devote in writing my début novel which I expect to come out by the end of the year.

Spinning around with my arms out in our yard amid my playmates in my childhood days, is what I pine for,today.I wish I could replay it!Yes,I replay it in a subtle way,but the look and texture has changed beyond recognition.Yes,indeed,I could have as much thrill from. penning and producing plays…a thrill that’s sweet and solemn..that feels like very fulfilling ,..innocent and pure like the giddiness a child senses while spinning around .