DEPICTION OF TRIBAL LIFE IN GOPINATH MOHANTY'S PARAJA

Gopinath Mohanty stands out from among the novelists of the postindependence generation for his epic saga of a traditional way of life being reshaped by modernity. His works Paraja, Amrutara Santana and Danapani not only marked the acme of social realism; they also pushed prose fiction beyond the limits of realism. The novel takes its name from the aboriginal Paraja tribe which has its home among the rugged mountains and forests of Koraput in Orissa. Paraja is Gopinath Mohanty’s most poignant and lyrical work, is a remarkable work by any standard and ranks among the masterpieces of Indian writing in this century. The novel Paraja is about the unwritten tribal history. The Parajas are one of the well-known major tribes of Orissa. The name “Paraja” came from Sanskrit and means “common people”. The Parajas in general are strong, stout and hardworking: compact with other tribal communities, they show some cultural differences especially in respect of their settlement pattern, dress and ornaments, economic life, beliefs and worship, manners, customs, and folk