Jadumani Besra

Jadumani Besra was born in 1964, in Village Karanjia, Dist. Mayurbhanj, Orissa. He is a graduate in Commerce from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. Apart from the Santali language, he also knows Ho, Mundari, Oriya, Bengali, Hindi and English. He is presently working as an Accounts Assistant in S.E. Railway, Kharagpur. He was also a General Secretary of All India Santali Writers Association. He began writing at an early age and published his first poem, “Chirgal Sakwa Orongme” in Jiwi Jharna. Also edited journals like Fagun Koel, and is now editing Mantar. He has one book Bhabna to his credit; he compiled and edited with others the following books: Onorhen Mohok, Dalij, (poetry collections), Jiyon Gada (short story collection), Directory of Santali Journals and Magazines and Bibliography of Santali Writers Part-L. His poems and short stories have been published in several magazines. Member of Santali Syllabus Committee, Burdwan University, Burdwan and North Orissa University, Baripada. Recipient of Dr. Ambedkar Fellowship from Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, Delhi and Maan Mohor Siropa from All India Santali Bhasha Morcha, Jamshedpur.

 The poems in Bhabna, the award-winning collection, are noted for their treatment drawing on natural beauty and representing the joys and sorrow of the people, at the same time bringing to the fore in a corrective way, the shortcomings of the society from where these poems spring. The work is deemed a notable contribution to Indian poetry in Santali.

Shri Jadumani Besra was given Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005