Hi ! I’m Sumitra Parhi AKA Mitra, born and brought up in a small coastal village of Bhadrak District, Odisha, India on 13th July 1985. I’m a full-time freelance Artist, Author and Researcher. For last 10 years I am doing research in the field of Alternative Education, Child Psychology, Literature as well as Traditional Art, Craft and Culture. As a result I write articles on practical experiences of alternative learning, alternative style of living, psychological dilemmas of children, parents, students, teachers and other groups of people in contemporary times as well as individual journey of people. I make YouTube videos on art, craft, food, culture, travel; take counselling sessions of people; do workshops on different issues with parents, teachers and students; prepares learning materials for children etc.

At the same time I give some time to make my own artworks and hand painted things; so that I can afford to continue doing all these works while being able to live a simple life.

These are the things what I love to do and what I feel most passionate about. So here in this website, I am trying to put all my creative things together to the greater world.

2019 : Junior Research Fellowship at Ministry Of Culture, Govt. of India.

2015 : Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching English, The English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad.

2013 : Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching English, The English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad.

2008 : M.A. in English & Comparative Literature, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry.

2006 : B.A (English Hons.) from Fakir Mohan University, Balasore

2021 : Founder Trustee of “Pratima Foundation”

2020 to present : Writing blog and regular column on art, craft, culture, alternative education in Odia for Batoi, Odishatv and Odishasambad.

2021 to present : Research Associate at Gopinath Mohanty Foundation, Bhubaneswar.

2021 : Project Assistant and Assistant Curator of “Barbil Art Project – V (Rupa-loka: Incarnation of Ideas)” organized by Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art, Bhubaneswar in collaboration with Arya Group Foundation, Barbil.

2021: Project Co-ordinator of “Metis Initiative on Plastics and Indo-Pacific Ocean 2021” organized by Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art, Bhubaneswar in collaboration with AFD (France Development Agency).

2020 : Pedagogist at Samanwit Sikshya Kendra, Ambala Cant., Ambala, Haryana

2019 : Exibition of Painting at Lalitkala Akademi, Ravindra Bhawan, New Delhi

2019 : Translator at India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore

2019 : Translator at Living Farm, Odisha

2019 to 2021 : Translator at Pratham organization, New Delhi

2018 to 2020 : Translator at Humana People to People India, New Delhi

2018 to 2020: Research Associate at Centre for Human Sciences, Bhubaneswar (CHSB)

2018 : Content Writter and Translator in Bhubaneswar Art Trail (BAT) organized by Utsha Foundation for contemporary Art in collaboration BDA.

2017 : Principal at SAIEC, Bishnubindha, Bhadrak, Odisha

2016 : Conducted Integrated workshop on “Nature” at Kaptipada, Mayurbhanj (400 students from four district has been participated).

2015 : Translation work for RBI, Bhubaneswar

2014 : Conducted workshop on “Self Discovery” at Markona, Baleswar (400 students from four district has been participated).

2013 : Lecturer in Interpersonal Communication, MIT, Bhubaneswar

2011 : Conducted workshop on “Importance of Self” at Basudevpur Block, Bhadrak ( 200 women from the block has been participated)

2011 : Spoken English Instructor at Sharp Mind, Hyderabad

2010-2016 : Alternative Education Director at SAIEC, Bishnubindha, Bhadrak, Odisha

2008 : Lecturer in Communicative English at IMAGE, Bhubaneswar

2007 : Sanskrit Language Instructor at Senthil Higher matriculation School, Pondicherry

2018 :ChahinleAkasha(Drama Collection on Child Psychology and Parenting)
This book of plays written exclusively to address problem faced by children and students, and to help them solve these in the process. Three of these plays have already been staged. Through this process many students were able to know their psychological process of understanding and were reunited with their estranged parents too.

2018 :Vetghat @ BAT (Interview Collection)
Thisis a collection of interviews of 24 artists from across the globe,who came to participate in the 2018 edition of Bhubaneswar Art Trail (BAT) organised by Utsha Foundation in collaboration with BDA.

2018 :KuniPariraGapa(Short Story Collection)
This book of stories was written for those children who asked me to write a story full of positivity, when I asked them to write some of their positive quality and something good about their parents. It was also written for those teachers who challenged me saying that without conflicts, problematic situations andnegative incidences stories for children can’t be written. And if written the stories won’t be enjoyed by them. But before publishing this book the stories were used for a workshop in which 450 student of different age group from four different districts has been participated. They enjoyed the stories a lot. During this workshop they created hundreds of drawings, sketches and wrote their own creative positive stories too.

2017 :PothibahararaPruthibi(Criticism)
The book is a collection of 14 essays based on practices of alternative learning. Some of the essays focus on alternative learning initiatives undertaken by me in different institutions of Odisha while other essays focus on psychological trauma faced by children and parents.

2015 :Mitra’s English Grammar: the magic and mystery of a language(Text Book)
This book is meant for those who don’t want to remember the boring facts of grammar;but either they love stories/poetry or they like to draw diagrams or learn through the process of day-to-day living. It is a combination of stories, poems, tables, diagrams, real life activities and a lot more. Anyone of the age 3+ to +3 can follow this one.

2007 :AlokaraAbhisara(Collection of Poem)
This book of poem was published in 2007 with some of my poems which were written during my school days.

National Seminar on “Translation and The Nation” at Pondicherry University in collaboration with Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore.

International Seminar on “Indian Women Writer and their Writings” at Tamilnadu in collaboration with Karnataka LekhakiyaraSangha.

M.A project paper:“Droupadi in Mahabharata and in Yagyaseni: A Comparative Study”

Paper Presentation on “White’s Voss and Sri Aurobindo’sSavitri: A Comparative Study”

National Seminar on “Post-Colonial Literature”

National Seminar on “Media Studies”

Presentation on “Alternative Education Practices in Odisha” atMuzaffarpur, Bihar.