A documentary film God's Own People on Nabakalebar-2015was screened at the INOX Bhubaneswar produced by the Department of Tourism (DoT). The film is directed by Padma Shri Nilamadhab Panda.
Governor SC Jamir and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik enjoyed an edited version of the film of 18 minutes in the presence of Ministers, bureaucrats and other prominent persons.
He film depicts that the Trinity in the lord Jagannath Temple in Puri changes the bodies like eternal soul according to the Hindu philosophy. The ritual is called Nabakalebar, meaning new incarnation. This is a rare ritual that took place last year after nineteen years.
Trees lovingly cared by households are felled for making idols of the deities. The entire event becomes momentous to experience anticipation, love, longing, separation, faith and surrender. The film explores Odia people's relationship with God.
The primary idea is to explore the best possible avenues around the world to showcase the faith by Odias bestowed on lord Jagannath. This is seen through the exotic landscape, artistic narrative traditions and beautiful cultural artifacts of Odisha.
Through television channels, God's Own People will be shown to popularise Odisha and worship of lord Jagannath to new audiences. The film also needs to be screened in prestigious film destivals such as Cannes in France, Berlin Film Festival and Ottawa Film Festival.
Besides, there are other avenues like the India International Centre, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, Nehru Centre, london, Kennedy Centre Washington, Berlin University, Melbourne University and other places of Higher learning, where Odisha, its ethnoscape around lord Jagannath worship can be disseminated.
The State Government would have to explore these avenues along with facebook and twitter for getting enough visibility in the social media, feel many.