Author(s): Balaram Lenka

Abstract: In the evolutionary trajectory of Odia poetry, the post-1980 period is regarded as a significant turning point, which literary critics have designated as "post-modernism." One of the most powerful poetic voices of this era belongs to the poet Hrushikesh Mallik. In his poetry, the consciousness of love is not merely an emotion but a vehicle of cultural resistance and the re-evaluation of life itself. This research paper endeavours to analyse the multifaceted manifestations of love across the poet’s various collections, including Dhana Saunta Jhia, Dharmapatni, Rebati, and the Sahitya Akademi Award-winning Sarijaithiba Apera. From the poet’s perspective, love embodies an indigenous bond with the soil of the village, a feminist sensibility, and, above all, an eternal quest for humanity. The very core of this study lies in how, through the deployment of postmodernist poetic techniques such as Magic Realism and Montage, he has forged an intimate connection between love, the earth, and humankind. In Mallik’s verses, love transcends mere romantic reverie; it becomes a "sublimated experience" (sublimation) that moves from melancholy toward optimism. This comprehensive examination thus grounds the lover-identity of Hrushikesh Mallik’s poetic persona in a firm philosophical foundation.

Keywords: Hrushikesh Mallik, Post-modernism, Love, Village Consciousness, Diversity of Love, Global Humanism, Magic Realism, Montage

Article Info: Received: 22 Feb 2026; Received in revised form: 27 Mar 2026; Accepted: 30 Mar 2026; Available online: 03 Apr 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.112.49