"CHHA MAANA AATHA GUNTHA" zamin.

Sanjay Bhatt

“Chha Maana Aatha Guntha” is a timeless novel of Odia literature. Its great novelist is Vyaasa Kabi Fakir Mohan Senapati. It is regarded as the first social-realist novel in the Odia language. The central theme of this novel is the oppressive zamindari system, greed for land, and the injustice and atrocities inflicted upon poor peasants.

The title “Chha Maana Aatha Guntha” refers to an extremely small piece of land, yet the novel vividly reveals how the cruelty and conspiracies of the zamindar Ramachandra Mangaraj over that tiny plot destroy the lives of poor people.

According to some scholars, the background of this novel is connected to the Damapadaa zamindaari area under Banki in Cuttack district. The main antagonist of the novel is the powerful and tyrannical (unconventional) zamindaar Raamachandra Mangaraaj. He is extremely greedy, cunning, lustful, and merciless. Yet, he constantly tries to project himself as a religious and pious man. By concealing his sins, he remains immersed in the false façade of religion. A smile on his face and poison within-his sole mental objective is to seize the land of poor farmers by any means. Assisting him is another villain of the novel-his mistress Champaa, who is beautiful, clever, and equally greedy.

Raamachandra Mangaraaj’s lawful wife Saantaani is a deeply religious and simple-hearted woman. Her nature is completely opposite to that of her husband. She devotes herself to charity and religious acts.

The hero and heroine of the novel are the poor peasant couple Bhagiaa and his wife Saariaa. They are childless and depend solely on the small plot of Chha Maana Atha Guntha for their livelihood. Desiring a child, they seek the blessings of the village goddess Maa Mangala.Raamachandra Mangaraj casts his greedy eyes on that fertile, double-cropped land situated on the banks of the Mahanadi River. Through deceit, false lawsuits, perjured witnesses, and misuse of the law, he forcibly occupies that tiny piece of land. After losing their land, Bhagiaa and Saariaa are reduced to extreme poverty. Hunger, humiliation, and suffering completely devastate their lives. Eventually, Saariaa dies, and Bhagiaa goes mad.

On the other hand, although Raamachandra Mangaraaj becomes wealthy, he loses his mental peace. His life becomes filled with fear, instability, and guilt. He is imprisoned and ultimately goes insane and dies.Stealing a huge amount of money from Mangaraj’s treasury, Champaa flees with Govinda Bhandaari. On the way, a quarrel erupts between them over the money, and in an unexpected turn of events, Govinda Bhandari slashes Champaa’s throat with a dagger, killing her. Champaa’s blood-soaked body is left lying by the roadside.

Further along the journey, they reach the Mahanadi River. Suddenly, a flood rises; the boat capsizes in midstream, and Govinda Bhandari falls victim to a crocodile.

Thus, “Chha Maana Aatha Guntha” emerges as a powerful social document against injustice, exploitation, and oppression.

("Chha Maana Aatha Guntha" novel was written by Fakir Mohan Senapati in 1897.
It is regarded as one of the earliest and most important modern novels in Odia literature, noted for its sharp social satire and critique of feudalism and colonial-era exploitation.")