Window
Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee
Bol Bom
With Shraban (or Sawaan, the second month
of the Rainy season) the bol bam
yatra has begun. Roads in Odisha are full with the saffron clad kanwararis
taking two pitchers full of water to pour over Shiva Linga at the temple of
their choice. I am told the situation is the same in many other East and North
Indian states, where this tradition is there.
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| Photo: Ashok Panda |
Normally it takes about one hour to reach
Dhenkanal from Cuttack- a distance of about 50 km. Last night it took two and
half. The kanwarias who walk bare foot were walking right on the bitumen road
leaving little space for the vehicles. They were going to Chandrasekhar Jew
Temple on Kapilash Hills.
And this will be the scene like the whole
month. Trains will be jam packed. Trucks with blaring loudspeakers carrying
food stuff for the group of kanwarias would be crowding the roads. The well-known
Shiva temple premises will be littered with waste and all kinds of debris.
My friend environmentalist and wild life
expert Biswajit Mohanty says, the Kapilash Wildlife Sanctuary suffers the most
during the Shravan month. Littering, breaking of branches for firewood, blaring
loud music are the problems as most of the kanwarias do not know how to conduct
themselves in a wild life sanctuary. At least 10,000 people pass it every
Sunday during this month- as Mondays are considered especially auspicious for
worship of Lord Shiva.
The number of kanwarias are growing evry
year. Before ten years the number of kanwarias could be measured in thousands.
It has grown twenty times or more in the last ten years.
People probably are turning to religion in
more numbers. Or it may be a fad. Or even a business plan triggered phenomena.
Take your pick- but the number and paraphernalia associated with it is growing.
It is causing inconvenience to normal life.
But in this country, who cares for the
convenience of common man?
Odia Journalism Day
It was on 4 August, 1866 that the
first Odia newspaper Utkal Deepika, a
weekly was born. It heralded a new era in Odia journalism. It had all the
attributes of a forward looking, people-focused and progressive newspaper.
Therefore 4 August is celebrated as Odia Journalism Day.
Many historians opine that Madala Panji, chronicle of the Jagannath Temple in
Puri could be taken as the first instance of journalism
in Odisha, as it systematically chronicled events related to Jagannath Temple,
Puri in particular and Odisha in general.
Some also
believe that Kujibara Patra deserve that distinction. In 1769, the Mahant
of Kujibara Math in Choudwar, Sadhu Sundar Das circulated a periodical called
the Kujibara Patra. This palm leaf periodical of irregular frequency
included homilies on social and religious issues. It also included news items
based on political, administrative and socio cultural matters.
The birth of
print media and its wide circulation in Odisha owe it to the Christian
missionaries, who came to Odisha on February 12, 1822 according to the
Government Gazette. However, the first book in Odia, The New Testament was printed and published by Serampore Baptist
Mission Press in Bengal in 1809. Thus the beginning of print in Odisha, as in
the world, was rooted in the propagation of the holy word.
The Christian
missionaries established the first printing press in Odisha (at Cuttack) in
1837 known as Cuttack Mission Press to print the New Testament and other
religious books. By this time, however, rapid development in publication of
non-religious, general interest and text books had taken place in other states
of India with adoption of Lord Maculay’s educational policy in 1935. Spread of
Western education infused a spirit of learning. Odia was adopted as the court
language in 1839 after prolonged demand.
All this created an atmosphere conducive to publication of books and
periodicals. Cuttack Mission Press brought out the first Odia journals Gyanaruna
(1849) and Prabodha Chandrika (January, 1856). Arunodaya, another magazine was published in 1861. Reverend C. Lassey was the editor of Gyanaruna. Some historians
believe he was also the editor of Prabodha Chandrika. The editor of Arunodaya was, however, not
known. Their
circulation was restricted to Cuttack
In 1861, five
years before the famine of 1866 (known as Naanka Durbhikha), Bodha
Dayini was published from Balasore. However, these periodicals were considered to be the missionaries' mouthpiece for propagation of their
religion. As a result, they failed to cover the news in real sense and lost
their popularity and subsequently their publications were closed.
The
first Odia newspaper, in the real sense, to be published was the weekly Utkal
Deepika by Gourishankar Roy on August 4, 1866. It was born at a time when
Odisha was beleaguered with many problems. A devastating famine (Na-anka Durbhikha) was underway, which
wiped out one third of the population Odisha. Odia language was under attack.
Odia literature needed a strong fillip. The society weighed down by
superstitions and badly needed reform. A nationalist movement was slowing
taking shape. It was in this critical juncture that Utkal Deepika took
birth and it played a very significant role in sociopolitical life of Odisha.
It brought the plight of common people to the notice of the concerned
authority. It constantly highlighted the impact of the famine and suggested
measures that should and could be taken.
It strived for the development of Odia
language and literature and protection of Odia interests. It fought for
the amalgamation
of outlying Odia-speaking areas, which remained scattered under different
provincial administrations by launching a vigorous campaign. It tried to engage
with people’s issues. It encouraged people to write letters to the paper
regarding their problems.It had an intimate connect with common masses and
often raised their issues and concerns. It also used a simple language, which
everybody can understand.
Utkal Deepika ceased publication in 1936. After 80 years, in
July 2016 it has been revived by Jayasish Roy.
Motivational Message of the Year
If you do not
love your job… take a home loan. You will start loving it.
Take another loan,
you will start loving your boss as well.
Get married… you will
start loving your office as well.
(Courtesy: Social
Media forward)
***
1 Aug. 2016
Mrinal Chatterjee, a journalist turned media
academician lives on the valley of Paniohala Hills at Dhenkanal, Odisha. He
also writes fiction. His latest book ‘Point by Point’, a collection of his
columns published in Odia daily Khabar
and Sambad Kalika is being released
on August 2016.
He can be contacted at mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
***
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