Madhusudan Rao

He was known as Bhaktakabi. His most well known work is the Chhabila Madhu Barnabodha. He was also a prominent acharya of the Brahmo Samaj.

Bhaktakabi Madhusudan Rao
Born	(1853-01-19)19 January 1853 Puri, Odisha, India
Died	28 December 1912(1912-12-28) (aged 59)
Occupation	Poet, Essayist
Nationality	Indian
Genre	Poetry
Notable works	Prabandhamala, Barnabodha

He was born on 19 January 1853 in the district of Puri. He was a prominent Odia poet and essayist widely considered as the Father Of Modern Odia Poetry, by adding foreign (western) lyrical elements and experimentation. He died on 28 December 1912.

He is known as Bhaktakavi of Odia and is considered the father of modern (using western lyrical forms) Odia poetry.^{[citation needed]}

• In collaboration with Radhanath Ray, he published two volumes, one each in 1873 and 1874, of collections of poems entitled Kavitabali.

• His other poetry collections, which also consist of compositions used as lyrics for songs, comprise:
  • Chhandamala (Vol. 1, 188; Vol. 2, 1895),
  • Sangitamala (1894),
  • Basanta Gatha (1910),
  • Kusumanjali (1903) and
  • Utkalgatha (1908).
• Prabandhamala, published in 1880, is a collection of essays in Odia.
• Apart from writing essays, he translated a few works from Sanskrit and English into Odia. They were published in Utkal Darpan, a literary journal.
• He wrote two short stories.
• He translated the Uttararamacarita of Bhavabhuti into Odia.
• He also contributed to children's literature.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1898). Chandamala (in Odia). The Arunodya Press. OCLC 499869715.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1901). Mahadebi Bhiktoria (in Odia). The Utkal Sahitya Press. OCLC 499865497.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1983). Madhusudana granthabali (in Odia). Grantha Mandira. OCLC 499128674.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1912). Ucca siksaka suhrda (in Odia). OCLC 1046989696.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1922). Karnna badha (in Odia). The Brajendra Press. OCLC 499865888.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1983). Basanta Gatha (in Odia). Phrends Pablisars. OCLC 499610376.
• Rao, Madhusudan (1944). Barnabodha (in Odia). The I.S.S.D. Press. OCLC 499519106.
• Rao, Madhusudan; Kabi, Asita (1972). Kusumañjali : alocana saha (in Odia). Niushtudentas Shtora. OCLC 6304045.