Oriya literature experienced periods of glory and decline from ancient times to the 14th century. Sarala Das was the first great Oriya poet and adapted the Mahabharata. Literature was religious in nature until 1500, covering gods and goddesses. The next era until 1700, called the Jagannatha Dasa Period, was typified by Chaitanya's compositions. Ramachandra Pattanayaka emerged a new form of novel in verse in the 17th century. The first Oriya printing type was also cast in 1836. Traditional Oriya clothing includes the dhoti, kurtha and gamucha for men and saris like Sambalpuri, Bomkai and
12. Oriya literature is a mish-mash of ups and downs from it ancient
glory to slumping down into almost non-entity. Sarala-dasa
(Sidheswar Panda) of the 14th century was the first great poet
of Oriya, who adapted the classic Mahabharata into simple Oriya.
The Odia literature was distinctly religious in nature up to 1500
AD mainly covering poems with religion, gods and goddesses as the
main theme.
The next era, more commonly called the Jagannatha Dasa Period,
stretches till the 1700 AD , typified by the compositions of Shri
Chaitanya. Ramachandra Pattanayaka’s Haravali set the trend for
the emergence of a new form of novel in verse during the
beginning of the 17th century.
The casting of the first Oriya printing typeset in 1836 is another
landmark of this period. The two brothers, Ramashankara Ray
13. The clothing of the people of Odisha is as
simple as their food .The people prefer to
wear traditional dresses
like Dhoti, Kurtha and Gamucha during
festivals or other religious occasions.
Women normally prefer to wear
the Saris(Sambalpuri Sari, Bomkai Sari,
Kataki Sari) or the Shalwar kameez.
Orissa peoples food habits are simple and very
tasty. Mudhi (Puffed rice) is taken in various
combinations, Dalma and santula are two more
dishes. Pakhala is another famous dish. Ghanta and
posta curries are also very famous. Chennapoda of
Nayagarh is so popular that it is even used in the
place of a birthday cake to be cut and served. The
popular desserts are Arisha and Kakara peetha. As
Orissa is a coastal area, fish and prawns are also a
part of the food habits of the people.
