Book “Konark-A story of explosive love” by noted author and former IPS officer Biswakesh Tripathy was held here in presence of eminent Odishi dancer and educationist Padmashri Prof Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi and Prof Asim Ranjan Parhi, among other guests.
The book, a historical fiction, speaks about the eternal love between King Narasingha Dev of Ganga dynasty of Utkala, who had built the famous Sun temple Konark (Black Pagoda) around 1238 AD and Maya, the daughter of the chieftain of Sishupalgarh, then an important fortress of Utkala.
King Narasingha Dev was a devoted Sun worshipper and an unabashed nudist. The Konark temple was built near the coast of Kalinga Mahodadhi (Bay of Bengal). It is believed that the Konark was built in the Padmaganda of Chandrabhaga estuary. In the vicinity was Mitrabana, a luxurious forest, rich in fruit-bearing trees and herbal plants.
There are many myths, legends and stories about Konark. The names of Sadasiba Samantarai, Bisu Maharana and his teenage son Dharama crop up as the main characters concerned with the construction of the Konark Temple.
Around these little facts and fiction, the theme of the book is built into the ethos of Odishan cultural history. The author has liberally borrowed from such ethos and given wings to his flights of fancy to the extent which he strongly believes must have been the way of life in that era.
