Dash Benhur: A Dedicated Writer

Pradeep Biswal 

Dash Benhur is the pseudonym of Jitendra Narayan Dash who is affectionately called Jita by the seniors but is famous as Dash Benhur. He adopted his pseudonym after watching the much-acclaimed film Ben Hur produced in 1959 that won eleven Oscar awards.

Born in Khandapara in Nayagarh district in 1953, he post-graduated in Political Science and joined as a lecturer in Bhadrak College in the seventies. Here he came across Jayant Biswal alias Raja another young colleague and both of them became favorites for the students. Jayant Biswal distinguished himself as an accomplished essayist and columnist. Dash Benhur started writing short stories and later switched over to children’s literature as well as newspaper columns.

In his Bhadrak days, he was attracted to one of her students Jayanti Panda with whom he tied the knot later. Jayanti became my classmate in Vanivihar and I was the person to break the news one day while introducing him in a literary session as an honored guest in the university auditorium. Jayanti, a good friend of mine, joined as a lecturer in Political Science and got her first posting at Vyasanagar College, Jajpur Road where her elder brother Ratnakar Pati was a lecturer in English and was my teacher.

Within a few months, she got selected by OPSC and joined in a Government college. After serving in different colleges she retired as a Reader at JKBK College, Cuttack. She’s also an accomplished poet in her own right with the pseudonym Jayantika.

My acquaintance with Dash Benhur dates back to 1980 when he joined BJB College and stayed inside the Utkal University campus. We used to meet on campus and in literary meetings frequently. A few years later I joined as Treasury Officer in Khandapara. Here I started experimenting with eliminating corruption in the office and it became a topic of discussion in the locality. One day a bearded elderly gentleman entered my chamber and introduced himself as the ex-accountant of the treasury.

I offered him a chair and talked to him. He was very appreciative of my initiatives and gave me some wise counseling. He was Radha Mohan Dash, who joined the treasury as an accountant in the pre-dependence days under the King of Khandapara and after the independence, his services were brought under the State Government. In course of the discussion, it transpired that he was the father of Dash Benhur and father-in-law of my friend Jayanti. Instantly he became my friend philosopher and guide in a strange place. He started sending milk for my son who was of few months old then. Frequently he dropped in my house to enquire about me and my family.

I obliged him for his love and affection. Years later when he was in the government quarters of his son in Unit 2 in Bhubaneswar he enquired about me and wanted to see me. I had the pleasure to meet him after years and take his blessings. Years ago he left for his heavenly abode but he became a factor in my close ties with his family.

Dash Benhur served in different government colleges mostly around Bhubaneswar and finally superannuated as Principal of SCS College, Puri. More than an academician he established himself in the field of literature. After retirement, he was associated with Sambad and Ama Odisha and became a close associate of Soumya Ranjan Patnaik. He edited Phula Jhari once a children’s magazine and now a supplement of Sambad dedicated to children’s literature.

He also writes a regular column in Sambad on different topics of interest. He is considered an authority on Gandhian philosophy and life and has done extensive research on Odisha’s connections with Gandhi. Pagadi Purusha, a biographical novel on Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das,  is an authentic book on the life often a legendary person. Not only he has been writing literature for the children but he has been pleading with the writers to write more materials for the children to attract them to the Odia language and literature.

He is the founder-president of Itikili Mitikili, an organization devoted to the promotion of literature and culture among children, and with the active support of his trusted colleague Sarat Nayak, himself a name in children’s literature, it has groomed many child artists who established themselves in life later. He is an inspiration for many budding writers and no wonder he bagged the Central Sahitya Akademi award for children’s literature in 2014.

Long before he had received the Odisha Sahitya Academy award for children’s literature in 1987, many more awards are in his kitty. He has more than a hundred publications to his credit. His books have also been translated into English and got published by national-level publishers. I have shared the dais with him on many occasions and found him quite erudite on his subject which got applause from the audience. While traveling with him he narrates interesting anecdotes of his life and one would surely enjoy his company.

(Mr. Pradeep Biswal is a bilingual poet writing both in Odia and English. His poems are widely anthologized. He is also an editor and translator of repute. A retired IAS Officer, Mr. Biswal presently holds the position of Member, Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority and stays with his family at Bhubaneswar. Views are Personal)

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