Odia Culture

Celebrating Culture of Odisha!
Write on Odisha, Odia, Culture & Odia culture.
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Founder: (Late)Shyamanuja Das
Run by: Sabyasachi Patra @indiawilds

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

ସ୍ନାନ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମା
ଡ. ବିନୋଦିନୀ ପାତ୍ର

ଝରିପଡୁ ନାଥ ଆଶିଷ ତମର
ଆମରି ମସ୍ତକ ପରେ ।
ପହିଲି ବରଷା ବାରିଧାରା ଯେହ୍ନେ
ମାଟିପରେ ଝରିପଡେ।
ଆଜି ପରା ତମ ସ୍ନାନ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମାହେ
ଜଗତର ଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠ ଦିଅଁ
ଜଳ ଢାଳିହୁଅସ୍ନାନମଣ୍ଡପରେ
ଯାଇ ଭାଇଭଗ୍ନୀ ସହ
ଝର ଝର ହୋଇ ଝରିଯାଏ ଜଳ
ତବ ଦିବ୍ୟ ତନୁ ଧୋଇ
ଚାତକଙ୍କ ପରି ଭକତଜନ ଯେ
ଇଚ୍ଛନ୍ତି ସେ ଜଳ ପାଇଁ।
ତୁଳସୀ ଚନ୍ଦନ ଅଗୁରୁ ସୁବାସେ
ମହକେ ସାରା ମୂଲକ।
ମହୁମାଛି ସମ ତବ ଭକ୍ତ ଜନ
ଦେଖୁଥାନ୍ତି ଲକ୍ଷଲକ୍ଷ।
ସବୁରି ଆଖିରେ ଲହଡି ଭାଙ୍ଗଇ
ଲୁହର ଉତ୍ତାଳ ଢେଉ
ଛାତିରେ ଭକ୍ତିର ଆବେଗ ଉଚ୍ଛଳ
ଅମାପ ଶରଧା ମହୁ।
ତୁଳସୀ ଦୟଣା ତବ ଶ୍ରୀ ଅଙ୍ଗରୁ
ଫିଙ୍ଗୁଥାନ୍ତି ସେବାୟତ
ହରିହାଟେ ଫେଣି ଗୋଟାଇବା ପରି
ଟାକି ଥାନ୍ତି ତୋ ଭକତ।
ଧାଡି ପହଣ୍ଡିରେ ଆସିଅଛ ତମେ
ସ୍ନାହାନ ବେଦୀରେ ଘେନିବାକୁ
,ମଙ୍ଗଳ ଆଳତି, ତଡପ ମଇଲମ,
ଅବକାଶ ନୀତି ସରିତ ଗଲାଣି
ଛେରାପହଁରାକୁ ଅପେକ୍ଷା ହେଲାଣି।
ଶହେ ଆଠଗରା ସୁବାସିତ ଜଳ
ସଜିଲହୋଇଛି ଶ୍ରୀଅଙ୍ଗେ ହୋଇବ ଲାଗି
ପଣ୍ଡାମାନେ ସବୁ ଶୁକ୍ଳ ବସନେ
ଅଛନ୍ତି ସେପାଇଁ ଜଗି।
ସ୍ନାନବେଦୀ ଆଜି ହସି ଉଠୁଅଛି
ଚତୁର୍ଧା ମୂର୍ତ୍ତିକୁଂଧରି।
କହୁଚି ସୈ।ଭାଗ୍ୟ କାର ଅଛି ଭକ୍ତେ
କୁହ ଆଜି ମୋର ପରି।
କିଏ ହାତ ଯୋଡେ, କିଏ ନୃତ୍ୟରଚେ
କିଏ ଗାଉଛି ଭଜନ,
ସ୍ନାନ ମଣ୍ଡପରୁ ବଡ ଦାଣ୍ଡ ଯାଏ
ଅମୃତମୟ ଏ ଦିନ।
କରୁଣା ରଖିବ ଦୟାର ସାଗର
ଦୀନ ଅରକ୍ଷିତ ଜନେ
ଆଜି ଦେବସ୍ନାନ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମାରେ ପ୍ରଭୋ
ତମପାଦେ ମୁଁ ପ୍ରଣମେ।

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Indian Citizens can get Indian passport. But holding an Indian passport doesn't mean you are an indian citizen. Ancient India was known for debates and logic. Alas! today Logic has deserted ext. affairs ministry babus. https://t.co/ojhGuYdcJp?

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

I agree 100 percent with the view that students should be allowed to attend exam even if they reach after the reporting time. If I reach late, I have less time to answer. Loss is mine. During engineering days, once I had overslept and reached the exam late.

Most importantly in our country with poor public transport, traffic jams etc at times it is difficult to reach a meeting on time even if you start couple of hours before time. Years ago in chennai, I was driving to secretariat from Sriperumbudur and due to rains I reached 45 mins late for a meeting with the then CM M. Karunanidhi as it took me three and half hours.

Education changes lives. A small misstep can destroy dreams.. Compassion from education ministry and board is necessary to protect our students from getting into depression and ruining their lives.

[Aditya Jakki @adityajakki]

Is there any good reason why students are not allowed to enter exam halls beyond said time?

How does it matter if students come 30 minutes late or 1 hour late or 2 hours late to the exam?

It is their exam paper, their wish right?

What they do with that allotted exam time is their headache

As long people can check students properly in terms of cheating slips and do phone jammings well,

late examination attendance shouldn't be an issue

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

I wonder except Religious preachers and politicians, does anyone gain by engaging with unwashed masses?

Unlike ancient India which prioritised tarka - debates with strict set of rules, today people largely devoid of intellect use profanities to cover up their lack of logic and knowledge. Social media as well as whatever is left of TV channels are a sad reflection of the society we are in and it shows up in the level of shouting instead of debates.

[Sabeer Bhatia @sabeer]

My view: The Ramayana is a mythological epic and literary work shaped by Valmiki and generations of storytellers, not a verifiable historical record. When myths are presented as unquestionable reality, they can discourage critical thinking and become tools of social and political influence. A healthy society should be able to respect its cultural stories while distinguishing faith from fact and mythology from history.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

I am very happy to hear the news about the recent round of funding by @SarvamAI raising its valuation to $1.5 billion. There are many areas where a sovereign AI company would be helpful. Of course it is not easy to simply follow in the footsteps of OpenAI and Anthropic and dump billions of dollars as they did. However, I do expect that the money spent here would be more wisely spent because we Indians are known to be cost competitive. Some time ago we had taken pride in sending Mangalayan – our space craft to Mars - at less than the budget of a large studio backed Hollywood movie.

During the war with Iran, it came to limelight that US Government is using anthropic deeply in its defense scenario planning and other applications. US Government recently has banned latest models like mythos from use by foreign nationals. In such a situation access to latest AI models becomes a competitive advantage. Hence, it would be very useful for a country like India which aspires to be counted once again as a leader.

The AI models developed in US do have some drawbacks as they are trained in their moral principles. A friend of mine asked an AI model as to what she should do as she had two competing invitations at the same time, one was to taste a favourite special biryani on occasion of a festival and the other was some house warming or some such party. The AI model suggested go and attend the biryani one but take care not to be photographed and avoid being mentioned or being talked about in social media about this event and tell the other guy that you are not well. She immediately said that she is looking for a suggestion but “why do I need to lie?” Then the AI model said “honesty is the best policy” blah blah.

These days people are asking ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to give them suggestions to solve their day-to-day issues. These AI models don’t have an ethical compass. So, some are encouraging people to take their lives, tell lies and commit crimes. In the heat of the moment when your mind is bereft of ideas, people often think that the only way to get out of the situation is to tell lies and commit a crime. Having an ethical AI tool at your disposal can solve all these problems. I hope having a home grown AI company like Sarvam AI will make it different and it would be more finetuned towards our own values and ideals and it will also lend a helping hand in solving our societal challenges like people engaging in self-harm.
https://t.co/LL5kuh8f6F

@ak_panda #ethics #EthicalAI

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Mir Jafar the most reviled traitor in Indian History seems to inspire people even today. While Mir Jafar was happy enough to throw morality and backstab Siraj-ud-daulah to support the British, in the same era in Europe Immanuel Kant was theorizing and writing “Two things awe me the most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me”.

We don't expect our politicians to have read Kant so there shouldn't be any expectations about their behaviour as per the above quote. However, these days people, especially the politicians take pride about the glorious era of ancient India. So, I expect they may be aware of Katha Upanishad.

In Katha Upanishad, a young brahmin boy Nachiketa went to Yama (God of Death) because in a fit of anger his dad had said that he will donate him to Yama. Nachiketa stood there in front of the gate for three days as Yama was not there. When Yama came he told Nachiketa that since was waiting there without food for three days he want to give three boons. And a lovely question and answer session started. To one of the questions, Yama answers that

अन्यच्छ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेयस्ते
उभे नानार्थे पुरुषं सिनीतः ।
तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु
भवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते ॥
anyac chreyo’nyad utaiva preyas
te ubhe nānārthe puruṣaṁ sinītaḥ |
tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu
bhavati hīyate’rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.1)

Different is the good, and different, indeed, is the pleasant. These two, with different purposes, bind a man. Of these two, it is well for him who takes hold of sreyas (the good); but he who chooses the pleasant, fails of his aim.

Sankara explains this as the highest good of man is not pleasure but moral goodness.

Some three centuries or so after Katha Upanishad was created came Plato. In the book The Phaedrus, Plato writes along similar lines. He writes “In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one being an innate device of pleasure, the other and acquired judgment which aspires after excellence. Now these two principles at one time maintain harmony, while at another they are at feud within us, and now one and now the other obtains mastery.”

India, even during last century was known as Aryavarta and was held in high esteem for its moral standards. There was one story of a young black boy pointing out Mahatma Gandhi’s statue asked his father who is this man. His father said he is the teacher of Martin Luther King. This is the example of India’s moral compass making people be in awe of India.

It would be easy to say that the blood of Mir Jafar seems to have polluted many in Bengal. However, that would not be a true statement, as we see lack of morality in Indian political as well as corporate universe as well as in other areas. Even though we keep on talking about bringing back the glory of ancient India, without the moral compass, it would be like focusing on the body without the life force.

[Mahua Moitra @MahuaMoitra]

Dada @SudipBAITC you were arrested in 2017. jailed in Rose Valley scam. Faked illness then & took BJD govt’s help to move from jail to hospital . Again now you faked illness to fly to Delhi to do gaddari! Tapas Roy & Kunal Ghosh were right about you. We were wrong!

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Bengalis use o - for eg they call puja as pujo. So, some people are writing Raja as Rajo.
PS: some fellows are now writing Raja as RawJaw (as if your jaw is bit raw and hurting after being bashed up by a goon in a street fight).

[An Ismita's🇮🇳 @ItismitaCodes03]

ଆଚ୍ଛା କିଛି ଲୋକ ରଜ କୁ Rajo କାଇଁ ଲେଖନ୍ତି ? Any Reason ?

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Sad to hear the passing away of Jaspal Rana. We used to eagerly wait for news of his performances...Sad that such a gifted player and coach has passed away at such a young age. Mahaprabhu bless his soul. Om Shanti

[Abhinav A. Bindra OLY @Abhinav_Bindra]

Heartbroken to hear about Jaspal Rana’s passing.

Jaspal was my teammate, and in many ways, part of a generation that helped shape Indian shooting. He was intense, gifted, and carried the pride of the country every time he stepped onto the range.

This is a huge loss for our sport. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, students and everyone whose life he touched.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

It was a pleasure to be the Chief Speaker at the #WorldEnviromentDay celebrations of CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology Bhubanewar. I spoke on Climate Crisis and Hand of Man and tried to give a holistic perspective. There were lot of students. Through my films, photos and story, I was hoping to inspire a few of them to think and approach problems differently. If it happens, then I would consider my effort to be a success. #climatechange #climatebreakdown

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

There is a teacher giving tuitions near bank colony Gosagareshwar chhaka, Old Town Bhubaneswar. My cook's son studying in class 9th came home crying saying that the teacher is taking kids to the attached bathroom and molesting. Other kids are not telling their parents due to fear. My cook's son got molested so doesn't want to go to study. My cook scolded the teacher saying being a guru how can you do such adharma. He shouted back saying no one has complained, what is the proof.

This is moral degradation as well as criminal behaviour of sexually exploiting minor boys.

My cook is a poor brahmin lady and like all folks is afraid of going to police and get caught in the web of complications. If there is any suomoto investigation she would talk. I wonder what can be done and how to eradicate such menace... hope some action is taken.
@arunbothra
PS: Not mentioning the name of the teacher here. Can send in message to anyone if required.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

@debabrata2008 The quality of pahala rasagola has plunged to abysmal depths. Best avoided. I prefer to buy from Nimapada sweets in Bapuji nagar, bhubaneswar.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

This is what Heroism is : Squadron Leader A.B. Devayya, despite being hit and with no hope to return back with his damaged aircraft, taking down a technologically superior F104 flown by Pakistani Fl Lt. Amjad Hussain. These true Heroes live and die for their country. Salute them not some pompous politician. #IndianAirforce
https://t.co/p15AVx4Tve

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

This is mind blowing. Hats off to Poonam Gupta!

[Sann @san_x_m]

Her name is Poonam Gupta.

She was born in 1969 in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. Her father was a government employee.

She completed her Bachelor of Economics at Hindu College, University of Delhi, in 1989, finishing second in the entire university.

Her Master of Economics at Delhi School of Economics in 1991 placed her fifth in the university.

She then moved to the United States and enrolled at the University of Maryland.

She completed a second Master’s degree in 1995 with a GPA of 3.9 out of 4.0, the highest in her class.

She then completed her PhD in Economics in 1998.

She spent eight years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.

She returned to India and taught at the Delhi School of Economics and other institutions.

Then she joined the World Bank in 2013 as a senior economist, rising to lead economist.

She returned to India in 2021 and became the first woman to lead the National Council of Applied Economic Research, India’s largest independent economic policy institution.

On April 2 2025 the Government of India appointed her as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

She is only the fourth woman to hold this position in the RBI’s 90 year history.

She is the first woman Deputy Governor of the RBI in 14 years.

She now sits on the Monetary Policy Committee that sets the interest rate affecting every loan, every EMI and every savings account in India.

She grew up in Odisha. She came second in Delhi University. She built her career across the IMF and the World Bank.

She came back.

Follow for stories India deserves to remember.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

@curio_owl I have told this several times to my friends in the corporate world but no body has taken my suggestion

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Odia food has evolved with the climate of this land and its cullture. Our food is offered to our deities. Our food is not pompous. It is steeped in devotion of the Odia women who cook it.
Unlike other states we have hundreds of vegetarian and non-veg dishes. So, it was a culture shock for me when I first went to Delhi and found how limited was the veg and non. veg menu.

Unfortunately these days our Odia food is also changing because ingredients are fast vanishing. Earlier you walk into any household and the lady will go to her yard and pluck different varieties of saga (spinach), put a fishing rod in the pond and catch a fish and cook a sumptuous meal. These days many varieties of saga have vanished. Similarly many fish species too have gone missing.

[Harsh Goenka @hvgoenka]

Indian cuisine conversations often revolve around Punjabi, South Indian or Bengali food. Odiya cuisine deserves a much bigger place on that table.
What struck me most was its restraint. No overload of cream, butter or chillies. Just balance, mustard, fermentation, texture and freshness.
Dahi Bara Aloo Dum (popular street food), Drumstick-Brinjal Besara, Chhena Tarkari, Chakuli Pitha (like dosa) Aloo Patra Besara… all made at home.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

We used to read that lynching happens in Pakistan. Guess we are not behind in terms of lack of law and order. There is a process of trial to exclude the possibility of over punishment, mis identification of victims etc... The police officials should be tried for dereliction of duty.

[Debiprasad @AskLipun]

Bhubaneswar

Two women allegedly run over by a bike, dragged on the road, forcibly kissed in broad daylight. They called the police helpline but before police arrived, locals gathered and gave the accused belt treatment, leading to his death.

Call me insensitive if you want, but no society can tolerate such perversion happening openly in daylight.

People snapped in anger.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Suvendu babu knows that he is now a political heavyweight after personally defeating Mamata Didi in back to back elections. He has ego that he has earned his stripes and feels that in contrast, leadership has been thrust on Majhi babu. Whatever may be your reputation, disrespecting someone is not in India's culture.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Foundation of a Nation can't be strong if it is not built on ethics. Sad story of scientists appropriating the work of a poor man.

[Parimal @Fintech03]

1 man found 3 yellow grains in the mud & spent 5 yrs protecting them from wild pigs. A trader named the result after his favorite watch brand to prove its quality, while a university stole the seeds to claim the credit. He fed millions, but worked as a daily wage laborer on his own soil. Discover the Ghost Farmer behind India's favorite thin rice.

While the world was looking at high-tech labs for the next green revolution, a school dropout named Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade was standing in his small 1.5 acre plot in Nanded, Maharashtra. While harvesting his usual Patel 3 rice, Dadaji noticed 3 yellow-seeded spikes (lomb) that looked different. Most farmers would have ignored them as impurities.

Dadaji picked those 3 spikes & stored them in a simple plastic bag. For the next 5 yrs, he painstakingly bred them in a tiny patch, protecting them from wild pigs with a fence of thorny bushes. He created a variety that was thinner, smelled better, & yielded 80% more than the conventional seeds.

Dadaji did not have a marketing team/a brand name. In 1990, a large landowner bought 150 kg of these seeds & sold the harvest to a local trader. At that time, HMT Watches were the ultimate symbol of Gold Standard & Reliability in India. The trader, who had recently bought a new HMT watch & was obsessed with it, decided to call the rice HMT Rice simply to signal that this rice was as High Quality as the watch.

The name stuck so hard that people today think HMT Rice was developed by the govt corporation (Hindustan Machine Tools), but the company had absolutely nothing to do with it!

In 1994, the Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth (PKV), an agricultural university, approached Dadaji. They took 5 kg of his seeds under the pretext of experimenting. A few yrs later, the university released a new"variety called PKV-HMT. They claimed Dadaji’s original seeds were impure & that they had purified them.

They took the credit, the patents, & the glory. For yrs, the man who actually did the 5 yrs of backbreaking research was left working as a daily wage laborer on other people’s farms just to feed his family.

Dadaji Khobragade lived in poverty for decades while HMT Rice became a multi-crore industry across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, & Chhattisgarh. It was only much later that the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) stepped in. They proved that the university’s new rice was genetically identical to Dadaji’s.

In 2010, Forbes magazine named him 1 of the most powerful Rural Entrepreneurs, & he finally received a National Award. But by then, he had already sold his own land to pay for his son’s medical treatment. Next time you eat a bowl of thin, aromatic HMT rice, remember it is not the product of a sanitized government lab. It is the result of a man who looked at three tiny yellow grains in the mud & saw a future that the PhDs missed.

The HMT in the rice does not stand for Hindustan Machine Tools; it stands for the Honesty of a Marginalized Toiler. Dadaji Khobragade proved that you do not need a degree to be a scientist; you just need an eye that can see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

A trader's love for a wristwatch gave the rice its name, but a farmer’s love for his land gave the rice its soul. 1 became a brand; the other remained a Ghost in his own fields.

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

@kumariika I had seen this book in childhood days in neighbours house. Any idea from where to procure it?

[Odia Culture @OdiaCulture]

Beware of your driver/henchman. Someday he will betray and beat you.....From Ramayan to Dhurandhar film to yesterday's election results