Founded in 1993, Nishant is an influential Odia journal that bridges world literature and Odia culture through translations, criticism, and thematic issues shaping Odisha’s literary discourse
Sangram Jena
Nishant is an Odia journal devoted to the promotion and critical discussion of ideas, history, culture, and literature. It first appeared on the literary landscape of Odisha in June 1993. The inaugural issue was inaugurated by Radhanath Rath, then Editor of the Odia daily ‘The Samaj’, and Dr Sangram Jena served as its Founder-Editor. From its inception, Nishant placed strong emphasis on critical writings, along with short stories, poetry, and book reviews.
One of its distinctive objectives was to engage with world literature and open a window to the West and beyond. A regular feature of the journal was the translation of writings by Nobel Prize winners of the year, along with other major international writers. This feature continued until 2005. During this period, works by celebrated authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Montaigne, Ungaretti, Quasimodo, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Alan Paton, David Diop, Camilo José Cela, Nadine Gordimer, Yukio Mishima, Günter Grass, José Saramago, Gao Xingjian, Dario Fo, Yasunari Kawabata, and several others were published in Odia translation.
Alongside these translations, Nishant also published critical and creative writings by leading Odia intellectuals and writers, including Satya Narayan Rajguru, Chittaranjan Das, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Sarat Kumar Mohanty, Jayanta Mahapatra, Ramakanta Rath, Rabindra Nath Sahoo, Haraprasad Das, Panchanan Mahanty, Sourindra Barik, Jatindra Kumar Naya,k and many others. The journal brought out several thematic special issues, focusing on women’s autobiographies (writers and artists), the writings of Pablo Neruda and José Saramago, literature by writers in exile, and anthologies on African, Japanese, and Chinese literature.
The year 2007 marked a significant turning point in the journey of Nishant. Eminent Odia poet, novelist, and critic J. P. Das suggested that the journal focus on unexplored areas of enquiry in Odia literature and culture. Following this, Nishant published an issue on Colonial Cuttack, drawing primarily from the accounts of European travellers, Odia autobiographies, and other historical writings. Subsequently, the journal explored a wide range of themes such as Odishan rivers, Calcutta, Odia travellers to Asian countries, biography, hunger, world wars, theatre, cinema, Gandhi, Buddhism, Ravenshaw College, Rangoon, Satyabadi, prison literature, Puri, Sarangadhar Das, and the world of railways.
The journey of Nishant (1993–2025) has thus been both explorative and intellectually exciting, making it a significant platform in the evolution of Odia literary and cultural discourse.
(The writer is a poet and former Vice-President of Odisha Sahitya Akademi. Views expressed are personal.)