Biswajeet Das was born in 1936. His first play, Banhi i.e. "Fire" was adjudged the best in a competition organized on the eve of the centenary celebrations of India`s First War of Independence in 1957. At that time he was a student at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. This encouraged him to write more. Nisipadma i.e. "Nocturnal Lotus", in 1957, Nalipana rani kalapana tika i.e. "Queen of Hearts and Ace of Spades" in 1968, and Nija pratinidhinka tharu i.e. "From Our Correspondent" in 1968, are some of the prominent names. Though written in traditional style these were perfect novel in presentation. Das`s adaptation of Gogol`s Inspector General as Pratapgodhare didin i.e. "Two Days in Pratapgarh" in 1967, was highly appreciated.
In 1970 Das produced Mrigaya i.e. "Hunt". This was an experimental play of a different taste, analysing artistically the agony and helplessness of hypocritical human beings. Psychoanalysis of the modern mind gave this effort a touch of reality. Das opines that craving for happiness always ends in the agony of contemporary life. Problems relating to old age and youth, political crises, and social dilemmas pose a total approach of a quest for life. Similarly, in Samrat i.e. "Emperor" in 1972, an adaptation of Albert Camus`s Caligula, Das analyses the mental state of present-day man through the emperor`s personality. Unlike many of his contemporaries Das is not prolific, but whatever he has done is remarkable for its qualitative excellence. His characters are three-dimensional. He is a dramatist of logic and reality but, during the 1970s, when professional Oriya theatre had nearly closed down and audiences turned their back on absurdist drama, he succeeded to some extent in bringing them back to the halls mainly through emotional dialogue. This is regarded as major contribution of Biswajeet Das.
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