Oriya get-together at Nandi Hills

Last Sunday (17-Sep-06), I had the opportunity to attend a group outing at Nandi Hills, which is situated around 60kms north of Bangalore. The group mentioned here is a select group of Oriyas staying in Bangalore with a common objective to do something for our motherland, the great Orissa.

 

I had heard a great deal about Nandi hills, but never had I got the chance visit the place. Named after the great bull of Lord Shiva, the hill now boasts as a great tourist destination around Bangalore. The climate up there is fabulous; especially when it drizzles and the sun shines elegantly (my first hand experience). There is a very old temple of lord Shiva on the top of the mountain. The view from the courtyard of the temple is excellent; a part of Bangalore is visible from there. Words of caution! The monkeys. You will find a lot of monkeys on the hill. They have become good friends with the visitors, and very often they try to steal some food from them too :)

 

We had great fun there ... team games, Orissa quiz, roaming around the hill, a sumptuous meal (cooked by one of our Oriya friends) ... yummy!!! In the afternoon, we had a brain-storming session regarding our roles and responsibilities towards the development in Orissa. It was well summarized by Mohini Bhai, who is currently All India Secy. for Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. Happy beginning and happy ending ... that is how the event can described as.

 

On the way back, there were some serious thoughts doing rounds in our minds. We have a lot of beautiful and scenic places in Orissa, but they never get the attention. Tourism in Orissa has not evolved to its  full potential. It might be apt to say that Orissa is still like the unexplored ocean and we have plenty to get out of it.

 

Something even more serious - the issue of identity. In this (busy!!!) world, people tend to make judgments in a hurry. You say you are from Orissa, they already have an image in their mind; and onwards, you will be treated in just the same way. Every now and then, when some negative comment comes up regarding Orissa, they would promptly point it out; but never would they praise it for some good cause. And see the effect, we start adopting their image and start feeling inferior to others. We need to change this attitude of ours as well as theirs. We might not be the best in all respect (must remember, no one is perfect), but nor are we worse than anybody else. We have to fight back when people try to bury us in the sand of despair, else we will soon become part of history. We need to defend well, and attack when it is required. Mohini bhai's thoughts provided the foundation for this thought, but we have to build a castle on it - a castle through which we can fight back all the evils against our motherland.