Interesting Times:

April 01/2011: The times may be changing but many things in life remain same and yet in motion. Media for instance. When we in Orissa are witnessing a major upward movement in our lifestyles, there is also a similar activity happening in the world of information dissemination.

Orissa Post, born today,   April 01/2011, marks a glorious date.  This is the Diamond Jubilee year of the creation of the State of Orissa which was born on this very day in 1936. So it can be said to be but a fledgling state. Because, a mere 75 years is not really enough time for a strong character to emerge. Carved out as the first state of the nation on language basis, the future augurs well for the land and the people. Truly speaking, we say this so bravely not really because the Oriyas have a history of hard work and devotion for duty.  Those are virtues abundantly lacking in the race. Instead, primarily because of, on one hand, the great natural resources bestowed by the Almighty on this land and its people.  Second,  for the people’s incredible ability to accommodate, adjust and tolerate. Let us not fool ourselves that the people here are non violent because they are mild. Mildness may have many reasons.

Introspection will show that although a race that has been aware of the world around it for long, the people of this land has an uncanny resilience that could sometimes unnerve outsiders.

We Oriyas have the ability to get stuck on issues of no consequence. We sometimes even adore ourselves for our stable instability. Never mind the fact that we mostly do not judge ourselves too harshly.  In spite of our paano and pokhala habits that may, arguably, slow down our thought processes, Oriyas are ingenious. History shows our last battle of any reckoning was the Kalinga battle that no recorded leader from our side commandeered. Ashoka had a one-sided affair with the factional groups present in his path. Did he slaughter the locals to eliminate the socially inferior or defeat a fighting army, no one today is genuinely aware. Do we care ? Yes, we do. Just as we care to know that Oriya, as a language, is a derivative of Pali. Not of Sanskrit. Maybe for that reason, unlike Hindi and other north Indian languages, the alphabets of this language do not have a line on top. All this and much more. Just to showcase that Orissa and Oriyas are different and unique.

Added to this plethora of historical facts is what is happening today. The birth of Orissa Post. Not that a few before have not tried to come up with English dailies.  Orissa has seen some feeble attempts. All were insincere and therefore did not survive. When the people here are getting a whiff of the beginning of the second decade of the 21 century, Orissa changing to Odisha in the English spelling, in our minds, does not really mean anything. Like mentioned earlier, we have this habit of getting ourselves messed up with unimportant aspects. We at Orissa Post, or OP as we say, are conscious of the spelling of the name of the state in the title of this newspaper. Technically speaking, after the State government prodded Constitutional Amendment Bill to change the spelling of the name fell thru in the Rajya Sabha, it has to restart from scratch. Once again, it has to be re-presented in both Houses, go to the Prez for acceptance and only then the change in the Constitution will be final. We are clear all these exercises are futile. Officially we are still Orissa, the original English spelling the founding fathers of this state had so lovingly coined. We should be aware that it is not the colonial rulers who gave us this spelling. Orissa Post, therefore, has decided to retain the initial spelling as a mark of respect to the sacrifices of Madhu Sudan Das, Gopabandhu Das , Fakira Mohan Senapati, Gangadhar Meher, Pandit Nilakantha Dash, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati and many others, known unknown, who loved the spirit of Orissa and gave the people an independent identity. So much for our name.

Next, why Orissa Post now. This is not a ‘now-or-never’ situation. Almost all major English language newspapers have been publishing their editions from Orissa for long. A few have their own print facilities. Most use hired printing presses. All of them have a few pages of local news that they throw on our faces while filling up pages with news of Erode, Chandigarh or Calcutta. Some have even dared to hold conferences at Bhubaneswar to prove to us that our regionalism is meaningless when compared to their second-rate-metro nationalism. A great laugh, indeed.

Orissa Post is Here Now.  Today.  In Orissa. We have no competitor. We acknowledge and respect every other media, print or electronic. Yet, we are intrinsically confident and profoundly aware that the Oriya of tomorrow is bound to pick up Orissa Post. Just not as a mere reader. But to understand. Analyse. Get informed of deeper and true meanings of what is happening in Orissa. As well as to relate. We also are aware of the huge expectations that have been generated by the birth of this daily newspaper. OP will not be a piece of translation. It will be on its own feet. With its own outlook, priorities and also its own readers. No stone will remain unturned by us here now and onwards at OP to give you a complete product that will give you regional as well as national and international news.

We wish Orissa a very happy birthday. Orissa Post aspires to be that attractive gift for this state and its people on this very auspicious day. May the Almighty bless Orissa and its people with peace, plenty and glory.