My City My Pride – Falling and Rising in Love through Nine Encounters
I now stay in Bhubaneswar, the smartest city of India. This city attracts global attention for its urban planning, temples, youth energy, IT companies and an emerging startup culture. It is also emerging as the sports capital of India and a potential literary hotspot. Culturally rich and vibrant, this city will certainly need a lot more interventions to become a truly world class city. Nevertheless, it has set standards for many cities in Odisha as well as the country to learn from. I am proud to say that I belong to Bhubaneswar. It’s a city that slowly captures your imagination and emotion. A city becomes your own as you own it and develop a vibrant relationship with its beauty while accepting it flaws and constantly working to make it better. A city is very much like a family. We are inseparable, still we argue and fight to become a better family. Same is the case with Bhubaneswar.
My relationship with Bhubaneswar did not start until I enrolled in my local college Lokanath Mohavidyala which is affiliated to Utkal University. Prior to that, my relationship outside my village was with two urban centres, Kendrapara my uncle’s town and Cuttack, the healthcare heart of the state. Bhubaneswar was unknown commodity to me and for people in my village. People in my village talked about it with respect and distantness. Cuttack was closer home for SCB Medical College and Hospital, Malgodown, Ravenshaw College, High Court and the Barabati Stadium. Bhubaneswar was the seat of government and power, only known to local politicians and bureaucrats. It was a place for the elite, by the elite and of the elite and elicited awe among people. No other place generated so much respect and awe as Bhubaneswar did. Cuttack, however, was familiar and Puri was Lord Jagannath’s abode and the place for nirvana.
After I completed my graduation in Political Science and Philosophy and wanted to pursue an MA in the subject, I was introduced to two possibilities. One was Ravenshaw College (now a University) and the other was Utkal University (popularly known as Vani Vihar). Utkal was unattainable as it was considered only for those who have had a first class career. I was a mediocre student with two third divisions and one second division in my academics. So I did not apply for Vani Vihar at all. But I cracked the Ravenshaw entrance and lived my two PG years feeling inferior to Vani Vihar students whenever I met them. This was the second time when I had an encounter with Bhubaneswar again with awe, respect and an inferiority complex.
After my MA in Political Science from Ravenshaw College, I went to Delhi in search of a job. This was essential as 1999 super cyclone had destroyed everything that my family had. I joined JNU in 2003 and completed an MPhil in International Relations in 2006. During those days, I met Rashmi Ranjan Parida who was my senior at the Department of Political Science of Ravenshaw and hostel mate in Central Hostel. He was working for the Hindustan Times those days. One day, I found him very upset as he could not find enough about Biju Patnaik while searching on the internet. He was keen to start an English language news website to keep people updated on Odisha. I joined him and interacted with ministers and other leaders who came from Bhubaneswar and stayed at Odisha Bhavan. They were all powerful people and surprisingly, they were very accessible. They liked our initiative. This was the third encounter with people of Bhubaneswar. This was not out of fear. I was getting closer to Bhubaneswar.
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By 2010, Odisha Diary which was established by Rashmi Ranjan Parida in 2005 completed five years and we as a team wanted to create a platform to recognise excellent effort of individuals who dedicated their lives to the cause of the people and the state of Odisha. Odisha Living Legend Award was established in 2011. Famous people, legends, stars, icons and inspiring individuals were nominated as Living Legends. Our interactions were lovely and there was so much mutual respect and admiration. Some awardees even hailed us as youth inspiration. This was my fourth encounter with Bhubaneswar.
This time, the fear was gone, respect remained intact and a liking developed for the city. After my MPhil, I went to Melbourne, Australia to pursue a PhD in Public Policy, Monash University. In 2010, I was part of a Monash delegation that visited TISS Mumbai for joint projects and MoUs. After the meetings, I flew back from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar. This was my first ever opportunity to see Biju Patnaik International airport. I was simply impressed with the art installations and paintings at the airport and found that it proudly represented Odisha and was definitely becoming a medium for international attention.
I found airport officials, cordial and the taxi driver, friendly. I realised not everyone in Bhubaneswar was powerful or power hungry. There are people who toil hard, do their duty and extend a smile to tell to the world that the city is welcoming. Truly ushering in Atithi Devo Bhava. This was my fifth encounter where the city was no more an enigma to me.
In 2012-13, Ravenshaw University was keen to start a School of International Studies and I was invited to co-found this unique initiative under the leadership of Prof Niranjan Barik. I came to Odisha to develop this new school and stayed in Bhubaneswar. I also got an offer to teach students of Journalism at Utkal University. This was dream come true. I could not study in the most prestigious university but God was kind to give me an offer to join the university as a teacher. I was a guest faculty but that was enough for me. It was my sixth encounter with Bhubaneswar and I started looking at it as a city of opportunities for me, my ideas and the future plans.
Then came 2014, the Odisha Diary team started Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF). This has now become a leading literary platform of India and in fact, has created great curiosity among literary figures around the world. In five years, this has been able to brand Bhubaneswar as a literary destination. Apart from being the Temple City and Smart City, Bhubaneswar is also becoming a city for literature festivals. It feels good to hear compliments from people who have come to Bhubaneswar and participated in Kalinga Literary Festival and Mystic Kalinga. This is a small contribution to my adopted city from me and my team. My seventh encounter with the city, and I am loving it.
Since 2016, I have been invited to television channels for discussions on issues of national security, foreign policy and international relations. The effort to popularise international relations in Odisha is slowly taking its root and my contribution in this has been small and many others have come forward to extend much needed support. My dream is gradually taking shape through my television appearances as Non-Resident Odia academics now are keen to take this forward by establishing new departments in Bhubaneswar based universities to popularise International Relations in Odisha. In my eighth encounter with Bhubaneswar, I have fallen and risen in love with the city.
I am married to Sandhya, a Bhubaneswar girl who knows the city in and out. Her simplicity and smartness reminds me of Bhubaneswar. My wife chose to go back to my village and spend time with my parents especially when they were not keeping well. She represents the old school value of family bonding and at the same time understands how to become a smart and independent person.
Bhubaneswar symbiotically binds the temples and the IT hubs. Bhubaneswar is also one of the friendliest cities for non-Odia residents and non-Odia speaking population. This is a unique achievement in the age of son-of the-soil movements around the world. Bhubaneswar is a melting pot that engulfs you without your knowledge. This is my ninth encounter with the city. Bhubaneswar is now in my career, family and future plans.
The author is a Senior Fellow at Kalinga Kusum Foundation, a Visiting Prof at NLUO, a Joint Director of Kalinga Literary Festival and an Ambassador at the Parliament of World’s Religions, Chicago.