Widely perceived as a cultural expert on western Odisha, Narendra Kumar Mishra, bureaucrat-turned-academic administrator, was Vice-Chancellor of the Utkal University of Culture from 2001 to 2004 after his superannuation from the post of BDA Vice-Chairman. He remembers with nostalgia the poetic past days of a spontaneous mass cultural extravaganza like Nuankhai in the prosaic present and finds that the acceptance of Western culture has made steady erosion into this folk culture, thereby making it appear lifeless and jejune by every passing year. He firmly believes that something is needed to be done to preserve the pristine purity of this typical cultural heritage, which has been handed down from generation to generation. He proudly proclaims that the Sambalpuri folk dance, folk music, folk songs, exquisite sarees are the essence of a glorious tradition and efforts should be made to preserve their distinctive characteristics. In an interview to The Pioneer, Mishra spoke to Sugyan Choudhury when the Nuankhai fervour is at its height.
What is Nuankhai all aboutIJ
Nuankhai is a ceremony of gratitude to our old mother Goddess Earth known as Dharitri Devi. This is a unique festival with which no other substitute festival is there to be compared. You can call this as the quixotic heritage which is conspicuously absent anywhere else in the world. Nuankhai festival is pregnant with myriad cultural values that have enriched the Odishan culture in particular and the Pan-Indian culture as a whole. On this day, all members of a family assemble to share the various items of sumptuous food prepared out of the new grains of rice. Sambalpur, as you know, is a sacred place owing to the worship of Samaleswari at Sambalpur, Pataneswari at Patnagarh, Sureswari at Sonepur, Sekhareswari at Sundargarh, Manikeswari in Kalahandi. These goddesses were being worshipped by their devotee kings, who used to decide an auspicious day for offering various delicacies as Prasad made out of the newly-harvested grains. After the offerings were over, the king and his subjects again offered Prasad to their family deities after which they all sat together to share it and other items which is known as Nuankhai. Adivasis or the aboriginal tribes also celebrate this day after worshipping their paddy fields by offering rice interspersed with milk as their offerings to Goddess Dharit, Penu or the good old Goddess Earth. On this day, family members who are staying even outside of the country come to share the new food with their families. After sharing food wearing new cloths, the younger ones offer their salutations to the elderly, who in turn bless the younger ones. This way, enough mirth and murmur, joy and jubilation turn the festival into a hilarious occasion. The spirit of joy and celebration of life makes the joint family system stronger and stronger. Today, in a consumeristic society coupled with godless materialism, we find the gradual disintegration of the old family order giving way to nuclear families, which are self-centred, egoistic being divorced from spirit of compassion. Even old conflicts, petty squabbles, skirmishes between brothers, friends get solved when the elder brother or the elderly person asked the other, “Won’t you share Nuankhai with usIJ” This entreat or a kind word from the elderly ones drowns all conflicts, all dissensions in a wave of love and kindness. Thus, we used to have a litigant-free society, a nonsectarian culture. People after sharing their foods together in a community or in a temple bid adieu to one another, saying “Jeen jagithile, aar barasake” meaning, “life is so uncertain; if we live, we meet again in the coming year”. But look at the pitiable plight of a nuclear family! You are circumscribed yourself to your wife or one son or one daughter. Elderly people and even parents are inhumanly neglected in a nuclear family, which are on the increase. But Nuankhai provides an antidote to such self-centered and selfish culture. The spirit of bonhomie and a rare camaraderie is the product of a long, long tradition of Sambalpuri culture. The spirit of brotherhood transcends from village to village and spreads throughout the region making it a unique cultural fest. Bijubabu in 1992 declared this day as a holiday wishing that this unique fervour and the zest for the celebration of life should spread contagion to the central, southern and northern regions of Odisha to cement brotherhood among all people of Odisha.
How do you think to arrest the downward trend of this otherwise rich cultureIJ
You must know that the culture of a race or region is inextricably interwoven with its language. Koshalisambalpuri language is a living language, but it is on the wane. It is gratifying to note that the Government of Odisha has recommended to the Union Government to include Koshalisambalpuri in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. If a language lives, its people live and its culture thrives. If Koshalisambalpuri language is enriched, the rich cultural traditions like Sambalpuri folk dance, music, songs, festivals like Nuankhai, Dalkhai, Karama, etc., etc. can become vibrant. You must know that the western Odishan region merged with Odisha only in the year 1905. On January 1, 1896, the Madhya Pradesh Government had imposed Hindi as a language in Sambalpur schools, colleges and courts as the Sambalpur region was under Madhya Pradesh. There was a movement called Sambalpur Bhasa Andolan that continued from 1896 to 1903, and in 1905 many Gadajat provinces along with Sambalpur merged with Odisha. Although the people have the Odia script for their use, they have their special ways of writing and speaking Koshalisambalpuri which should be preserved and protected for nourishing and nurturing their cultures. Sambalpuri sarees have won wide acclaim in the whole world. Even Indiraji had also put on a Sambalpuri saree the day before her martyrdom. The Sambalpuri folk music, dance, songs are unique and are second to none in the world. But it is a matter of regret that the culture is on decline because of lack of lyricists, composers, music directors, etc. That aroma is missing very much days these days.
Do you vouchsafe for a separate Koshal State that can provide impetus to such culturesIJ
No. A separate Koshal State is neither feasible nor viable at present. What they want is that the Government of Odisha should concentrate on their various developmental projects. For example, there occurs an exodus of people after the Nuankhai to other States. Mostly, young people migrate to other States as Dadan labourers because except Bargarh and some portion of Sambalpur, there are no irrigation systems available in this region. There are more landless, jobless people as agriculture takes a backseat in these districts. The Government should think in this regard to ameliorate the lots of the seasonally unemployed mass.
Besides, a long pending demand of the people of the region is for opening of a Sambalpuri Folk Academy for encouraging the Sambalpuri song, drama, dance, music. The weaver society of the area should be encouraged for continuing their earnings through weaving exquisite sarees as an ostensible means of their livelihood.
Do you believe Sambalpuri cultures are a class apart from the Odishan cultureIJ
No, certainly not so. The Sambalpuri cultures have always a special identity for them, but they are not a class apart from the Odishan culture of excellence. They have enriched and contributed immensely to the Odishan culture as a whole and to the Indian culture and tradition in general. If you listen to the lovely, lilting, pulsating music whether in profane songs like Rangabati, Rangabati….” or be in the prayers or hymns to lord Jagannath, you will be realising the intoxicating capsule-like songs, which is the rare trait of this genre.
What is your message to the future generationIJ
The future generation of Odias should try to preserve and conserve their unique cultural items without being assailed by the hype and hoopla of the media culture and the razzle-dazzle of the Western ways of life.