Following the zeal of unflinching determination and staunch courage of Ryszard Kapuscinski, my heart seduced me (though body was sick) to embark on a two-week tour of Odisha ( a recent rechristening of Orissa) in the first week of this month. Along with ever good companions- Ajit and Pramod, I left Hyderabad and enjoyed the Durga Puja celebration in Bhubaneswar. But a city should be considered as a veil to the real picture of a country or state. Apparently, the panoramic hinterland of rural Odisha reveals several realities and thus, we headed to Pramod's village. The smell of the reddish ferruginous literate soil of Eastern Ghat near Cuttack in Coastal Odisha and the aroma of wild shrubs and bushes along the roadsides made my ill-body temporarily cured to enjoy the richer scenery of leafy green paddy fields till the visible horizon. Ever warm hospitality of Pramod's village people and relatives to a completely different background person like me gave me an understanding that the essence of affection and love is absolutely unchanged irrespective of place, language and culture.
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| Village children in Western Odisha |
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But the hilly landscape of the Western Odisha (the Sambalpur region) makes one feel tranquil, swoon and calm. Clean air and teak-tree lines enrich the beauty of perennially fertile earth and in turn, it nurtures its living children such as human beings, animals, etc. Rich with minerals, this region of Odisha is 'underdeveloped' in socio-economic terms, though the Sambalpuri brand of textile products such as saris, dhotis, etc have established its recognition with the settlement of the Marwari community in the remoter areas influencing local trading culture. But the annexation of industrial houses seldom brings prosperity to its people, despite a chaotic political hubbub of environmental conservation over setting up industries. Everything will remind you a typical Indian rural village. In a sense, Odisha is good at everything minus poverty (unlike our Bihar where corruption, violence and illiteracy rule the roost). But the emotional attachment at Ajit's home with his large family members has left an indelible imprint on my mind.
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| A village girl |
