A webinar was held on ‘Mishra Shala Sri Ganesh’, a museum of dying tradition, recently with distinguished persons like senior administrators, intellectuals, artists and litterateurs on its panel of guests.
‘Mishra Shala Sri Ganesh’ is a museum of fanciful made-up wooden memorabilia of the missing lifestyle of bygone days. "When we discard our old lifestyle to drape ourselves with the high-tech digitalised era, we also bring permanent damage to our language. For language is inseparably linked to lifestyle. It's pathetic that our young generations can hardly recognize a cart, plough, yoke, palanquin or wooden bells tied around the neck of cattle. Are not we inviting a cultural annihilation without leaving behind any trace of it if we don't take an attempt to preserve it," said Mishra Shala Sri Ganesh founder and curator Prof (Dr) Ajaya Mishra.
He crafts miniature wooden models of old missing articles that we hardly use any more and preserves them in his house at Cuttack. Anyone in quest of a glimpse of ways of how Odias lived in the past can have it by just visiting this wonderful ensemble of Dr Mishra.
Odia Language, Literature, and Culture Department Principal Secretary Bishnupada Sethy attended the event as the chief guest and praised Mishra for his solitary endeavour to recall the precious emblems. He also promised to do his best to promote and patronize the museum while citing how attempts to save the heritage are undertaken by countries he has visited.
Odia Language, Literature, and Culture Department Director Ranjan Kumar Das said, “These far-reaching mini monuments are not just the products of free time of a retired professor; rather they light upon a brave response of a visionary to the challenges of time.
"Presiding over solemn meeting, former Income Tax Commissioner Sarat Kumar Dash expressed joy at finding these replicas of long-forgotten articles and short delightful poems composed in description of them. Among others, Bikram Dash, Rajkishor Mohanty, Bijaya Kumar Nayak, Golap Goswami Debata and story writer Er Bishnu Sahoo, Prof Bhagaban Dash, Prof Gopalkrishna Acharya spoke. A host of literary luminaries from within and around the country, who joined the event on virtual mode included Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan from Toronto, Disha Mohapatra, and Sonali Mishra from London.
