Ananta Charan Sukla, a former Professor of English at the Sambalpur University and an eminent author published by leading publishers of the West, may be a lesser-known name in his home State of Odisha, but those who know him well reckon him for his erudition, scholarship and institution building.

A fine comparatist, especially in philosophy of literature and philosophy of art (aesthetics), his contribution in these areas through the Vishvanatha Kaviraja Institute founded by him in 1977 and the “Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics” (JCLA) of which he is the founding editor, has been immense. He has been editing and publishing the academic journal for over four decades single-handedly and unabatedly with his limited financial means.

His journal is now the oldest journal of India in the field of humanities which is still in existence (while most university journals have ceased to exist) having had published the most number of Western scholars of world renown like Rene Wellek, Harold Osborne, John Hospers, and many past masters. No other Indian journal has ever published such eminent foreign scholars.

He is also credited to be the scholar who brought comparative literature to Odisha. When TS Eliot passed away in 1965, he wrote an essay in his honour for Calcutta-based Odia literary magazine 'Asantakali' titled "T S Eliot nka Jibana Jigyasa O Bharatiya Darsana" (TS Eliot's quest for life and Indian philosophy).

That was the first-ever comparative study of Indian and Western literary traditions done by any scholar from Odisha. Soon after, in 1969, he translated Aristotle's Poetics into Odia as "Aristotle'nka Kabyatattwa" with a long scholarly introduction, critical commentary, and elaborate notes. It was the first such translation of the “Poetics” in any Indian language which was published by Friends' Publishers, Cuttack, and recently a 50th-anniversary edition of the book came out.

Back then, the book was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Award in the translation category but Sukla chose to withdraw justifying he didn't translate the work for any award or reward, but for his love for comparing Indian and Western literary traditions.

His journey as a critic and comparatist began in 1960 when he travelled to Calcutta from a small village near Bhadrak town to study at Jadavpur University. He went on to complete masters in three subjects, English, Philosophy, and Sanskrit, and then PhD in comparative literature from Jadavpur as his mentors there urged him to study philosophy and Sanskrit as well to pursue a doctorate in comparative literature.

His dissertation "The Concept of Imitation in Greek and Indian Aesthetics" was published by Rupa & Co., and this trailblazing work is still referred to and cited by scholars worldwide. He is also the first scholar from Odisha to have had earned a doctorate in comparative literature.

“He was our window to a larger academic world. He taught us comparative aesthetics. In spite of the constraints a very small town imposes upon academic projects, he managed to bring his journal regularly. This is an amazingly impressive intellectual feat,” says former Professor of English at Utkal University and noted translator Jatindra Kumar Nayak.

“While a student at Ravenshaw, I came across his Odia translation of Aristotle’s Poetics and that the book has been translated into Odia from classical Greek filled me with awed respect for him. The issue of the journal that he showed me in 1980 when I was his student was dedicated to the famous American critic and comparatist, René Wellek which also featured a long letter written by the legend,” Prof Nayak recalls.

His journal always featured world-renowned scholars and explored a wide range of topics related to comparative literature and aesthetics. He had already established his reputation as an eminent comparatist in India and abroad then, he adds.

“Immensely humane and erudite, he is one of the very few English professors in Odisha who has filled a gaping void in the heart of English studies, caused by the absence of any encounter with Sanskrit. And he has done it before GN Devy and others have done it,” says former Professor of English at Utkal University Himansu Mohapatra.

Former bureaucrat, former Revenshaw College VC and writer Devdas Chhotray says, “Once, I remember, I sat close to him in a small theatre in Cuttack where one of my father’s plays was being staged, without realising that I was in the august company of a connoisseur of Greek and Sanskrit plays. He sat there, as I recall, with the impassive face of an ascetic. It is a pity that I did not avail the opportunity of knowing him enough when I was the Vice-Chancellor of Ravenshaw University, and the chance of an exceptional synergy

was lost.”

“His work was my introduction to comparative aesthetics. Even today, there is a dearth of publication on Indian aesthetics and it is his work which is still an inspiration for many,” says Prof Parul Dave Mukherji, Dean of the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi. 

“His lecture notes were among the most beautiful that I have seen in my life,” says Bijay K Danta, Professor of English, Tezpur University.

“My personal interest in his work took birth while I was studying the corpus of pre-modern Odia poetry for writing the introduction to a book. I found a heavily coded Odia critical tradition carrying traces of a powerful Sanskrit tradition. My understanding of the latter began with his writings,” says Urmishree Bedamatta, Associate Professor of English, Ravenshaw University.

Reshmi Mukherjee, Professor of English, Boise State University, USA, says, “He is a true renaissance man and a fighter like Ulysses. He re-established a connection of European thought to Indian philosophy, something that Eliot had long professed to. From a comparative point of view, I think that in 1965 that was a unique connection to make.”

Sukla is simply fascinated by comparing the Orient and the Occident, and this fascination which forms the basis for his works has been recounted by a larger number of eminent foreign scholars than Indian academicians in a recent Festschrift titled “Ananta Sukla: As We Know Him” published last year by Coolgrove Press, New York, USA.