Oriya (ଓଡ଼ିଆ odiā) is an official language of the state of Orissa(ଓଡ଼ିଶା), India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighbouring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The earliest written texts in the language are about thousand years old. Orissa was a vast empire in ancient and medieval times, extending from the Ganges in the north to the Godavari in the south. During British rule, however, Orissa lost its political identity and formed parts of the Bengal and Madras Presidencies. The present state of Orissa was formed in 1936. The modern Oriya language is formed mostly from Pali words with significant Sanskrit influence. About 28% of modern Oriya words have Adivasi origins, and about 2% have Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), Persian, or Arabic origins.

[2] The first possible origins of the Oriya language are found in scripts that formed the 2nd century BC edicts of Ashoka, found at Dhauli and Jaugada, and in the inscriptions of Kharavela in the Hati Gumpha of Khandagiri. From a linguistic perspective, the inscriptions of Hati Gumpha are near modern Oriya and have essential differences compared to the language of the Ashoka edicts. Pali was the prevalent language in Orissa during this period. The Hati Gumpha inscriptions, which are in Pali, are perhaps the only evidence of Pali stone inscriptions. This may be the why the German linguists professor Hermann Oldenburg stated that Pali was the original language of Orissa.

Manoj Das (Oriya: ମନୋଜ ଦାସ) (born 1934) is an Indian award-winning author who writes in Oriya and English.

Manoj Das, a prolific author, is India's foremost short story writers. He writes both in Oriya and English, and is a Professor of English at the Sri Aurobindo International University, Pondicherry.

Manoj Das was born in a small coastal village named Shankari in Balasore district, Orissa State. Since 1963, he has been an ashramite at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. He is presently concentrating on writing novels.

Manoj Das is perhaps the foremost bilingual Oriya writer and a master of dramatic expression both in his English and Oriya short stories and novels. He says that, 'Characters follow the theme of a story, and the words are merely added by author to represent the thoughts of the character'. That is the precise reason why Das's characters in fiction are from so many varied backgrounds, and display many different dimensions of human nature. He is a philosopher, a thinker-writer whose works can be defined as a quest for finding the eternal truth in everyday situations.