Purnamasi Jani: An Epitome Of Devine Mysticism

Purnamasi Jani, well known as Tadisuru Bai among her followers, is not a common tribal woman. She is a marvelous personification of divinely sanctioned human power. Her understanding of social issues and rendition of social messages through colloquial language for the betterment of mankind has no comparison. The septuagenarian lady without any formal education has composed more than one lakh songs and verses in Odia, Sanskrit and the tribal Kui language. Her compositions have social messages for the youth, against superstitions and narrate the dangers of early marriage of girls and alcohol.

May be one would get astonished to hear about her, but it’s nothing less than divinely. She never repeats her creations. Just like a Sadhvi, she starts her discourse and continues to mesmerize the disciples. Belonging to Charipada village in Kandhamal district of Odisha, Purnamasi Jani is well known among the local people as Tadisuru Bai. Her contribution to the society in the last five decades has been recognized and the Government of India has awarded her Padmasri this year – a first from Kandhamal district. Born in 1944, Purnamasi had a difficult life in the beginning. Early marriage and the subsequent death of six of her children due to malnutrition made her life more measurable. The turnaround happened when once she came in contact with Sarananda a tribal youth. In 1969 Purnamasi starts her journey of Tapsaya at the Tadisuru hills in Bapalmandi village and the rest is history. Born in a poor family, Purnamasi’s childhood was busy with cultivation, collecting firewood and doing household chores. Even after her marriage, the same life continued. The death of her children moved her and made her inch towards spirituality.

Her transformation from a tribal lady to a divine power embodied personality is an epic in itself. After her Sidhi she returned to her family and had two daughters. In 1970, her sadhana entered a new phase when she started her divine discourse and godly messages. The devotion and spirituality of Purnamasi slowly attracted the masses and people from all walks of life became her disciples. Derived from the Ramayana, Bhagavat and Nrusinghapurana, her spontaneous compositions continued to inspire people from all around the district and state. During 1990 some of her renditions were recorded and books were printed which made her more popular. They also became available in the form of recorded cassettes. Purnamasi was awarded the Odisha Sahitya Academy award for poetry in 2006 and the South Odisha literature award in 2008. Though illiterate, Purnamasi’s understanding of social issues made her an wonder woman. Living a simple life in Charipada, she still stitches leaf plates and does her daily chores. Though the Padmashri Award came as a surprise to her, it does not make her indifferent. According to her, this is just the god’s blessings on her. Her verses have the power to sanctify and purify the mind transform the life into something more beautiful and elevated. Tapaswini Tadisuru Bai’s life is an example that a few can replicate. At this age, her only aim is to make the society more beautiful. Her quest for social transformation through her spiritual and divinely discourses will remain incomparable. Kandhamal is really blessed to be the home of such a personality.