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This Blogger From Barpali Recreates The Magic Of The Famed Malgudi Days
The fact that stories by a blogger from Barpali block of Bargarh district, describing interesting anecdotes about the history, traditions and people of his non-descript village could charm readers living thousands of miles across the world might sound surprising. But such is the simplicity and charm of writer and blogger E. Kiran that his blogs have had a compelling influence on readers.
Reading his story about a poor girl, Jharana Meher, a victim of the prevailing gender discrimination in India, Dr. Patricia Peyrat of France was inspired to come down to the remote village Gopaipali in Odisha to help ameliorate the financial condition of her family, besides donating two goats and a sewing machine.
His blogs at www.barpalidays.blogspot.in have been also instrumental in bringing Candace Whalen from Los Angeles and Alpa Mistri from London to his little town of Barpali. Impressed by his descriptions of the handloom industry of Barpali and its surrounding villages, many foreign tourists keep pouring in to Barpali often, making it an ‘Ikat hub’.
The simple and innocent style of Mohan’s writing recounting the rural atmosphere comprising its people, culture and lifestyle, has readers fall in love with the small town in Odisha called Barpali. His accounts of rural life are as enticing as are the titles of his stories like ‘Kecho Soup’, ‘Chal Bo Chal Jhadama Buro’, ‘Bhow Bhow’, ‘Hunt for the Sugarcanes’ and many more.
‘Chal Bo Chal Jhadama Buro’ is a funny narration of school kids troubling his family while stealing berries from his backyard whereas ‘Hunt for the Sugarcanes’ is a charming story of how school kids turn sugar cane pirates when a truck loaded with it turns upside down from an accident. His post, ‘Bhow Bhow’ is about the heartwarming relation shared by humans and canines, recounted through the mischiefs of his two pet dogs. Even, ‘Kecho Soup’ is a tender storytelling how a writer finds a turtle and the difficulties he undergoes in rehabilitating it in a nearby pond. In its own small way, this story tells us how a common person could protect the nature and the environment without hampering his daily schedule.
Whereas ‘Harvest The Crop Only When It Matures’ is a humanitarian account of the writer who had handed over five rupees to an unemployed young stranger on the streets of New Delhi and how he chased that youth for the next four years to recover this paltry money. Interestingly, LIC of India came up with a beautiful TV advertisement for its insurance product Jeevan Anand, based on this story. The advertisement picturised how two friends fight over five rupeeswhere one of the friend says, “Radhika ko bus mei ghumane ke liye panch rupiya mene diya tha”. This ad was telecast during the prime time in news channels.
But it is not just quaint places and incidents that E.Kiran Mohan writes about. His blogs are an agent in themselves, becoming the voice of the needy and destitute. Be it the story of the blind Meher’s family where all the siblings were blind or the sad life of a handicapped girl Tulsi Meher and the boy Saurav Mishra, Mohan’s words about them would melt your heart. Readers of his blogs have reached out to these individuals with financial assistance: Tulsi Meher received a second-hand tricycle from a gentleman based out of New Delhi, while Saurav Mishra got a draft from an elderly lady of Pune to take care of his educational expenses for the entire year. On the other hand, the Meher family was helped with grocery for a whole month from Nadia of Paris. An Odia woman working in USA, Shruty Mohanty after going through Mohan’s blogs, consecutively sent US $ 200 for two years to provide for the food provisions for Sana Sahu, a lone helpless woman living in Barpali.