The householder ascetic

The famine of 1866 decimated millions in Orissa. At that time, Oriya society was plagued by an apathetic colonial administration, fervent religious activism and Brahminical caste discrimination. Few were ready to hear the words of a saint-poet, translated here from the original Oriya:
Touching the waters of Mahanadi
as I sit on its bank, I swear
I will transgress all Dharma, I will drink liquor.
I will elope with a Brahmin woman.Yet, Bhima Bhoi's compassionate verses had an impact, so much so that the Oriya people, irrespective of their literacy level or familiarity with literature, quoted his verses. One of their favourites was the following:
Endless are the agonies and sorrows of the living.
Who can bear to be witness?
Condemn my life to hell,
But let the world be uplifted.Bhima's ability to challenge prevalent belief has been appreciated not just by Oriya readers. His often mystical verses were also sung by the masses, accompanied by the tambourine-like khanjani – as they continue to be today.

The precise date of Bhima's birth is not known, but most estimates suggest that he was born around 1855 and died in 1895. Bhima's poetry reflects his background – he was blind, illiterate and born into a Dalit household – and communicates, in equal measure, the thoughts of a rebel, a disciple and a mystic who eventually came to be revered as a saint. He wrote, 'Tis a jest of my Guru that my eyes cannot see./ I mastered no Vedas or Sastras./ I compose my verses with my mind/ through my experience, peering into the void'. Thus, the issue of his blindness best fit into the canon as promoted by the Indian bhakti (devotional) tradition.