Welcome to the abode of the true Odia.
Odisha is a state in south-eastern India of Asia continent, which may be small in size but has a vast legacy behind it. It has a vast cultural and spiritual heritage. Odisha is the mother land of the famous ‘Paika’ cults who are well-known in the history for their bravery and love for their mother land; this is the root cause for which the British found it difficult to defeat the then rulers of Odisha.
Odisha is the land of the lord of the universe I.e. Lord Jagannath. Lord Jagannath is not only the deity of the region but he is righteously the member of every Odia family and he dwells in every Odia heart. The rituals followed in the temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri are the replica of the Odia life style. This is reason why the culture of Odisha is known as Jagannath Culture. The culture of the land has been further enriched by the rulers who originated from the other parts of India who invaded Odisha at different phases in the history of Odisha, which was at that time popularly known as Utkal or Kalinga. They conquered the land but such is the power of Odia mass that later they lost their heart to the Odias, particularly Lord Jagannath and became an Odia by heart. In due course they contributed a lot for the development of art and culture of the state.
Odisha is very rich in artistic values. Odisha is famous for its ‘Pattachitra’ art, Silver filigree works, Brass works and many more. Odia artisans have a very special place in the world scenario which is very clear from the fact that every day large number of tourists come to Odisha from all parts of the world to visit different places of tourist interest and get attracted by the sculptures carved on the walls of the temples. They don’t only see these they also purchase the copies of these sculptures made by the modern Odia artisans and take pleasure in placing them in their drawing room and garden. Many foreigners attracted by Odia art and dance forms have learnt these from the Odia Gurus and gradually made it their profession hence spreading its fragrance in all parts of the world.
We Odias follow many traditional and spiritual rituals during different festive occasions which have strong beliefs behind them. Many modern thinkers regarded these as just myths but gradually the scientists and research personalities have come across the science behind these rituals and traditions. This not only brought these practices into limelight but also proved that our ancestors were well aware of some findings of today but they formulated different stories behind their findings so that the common people will get interested in them, remember them, bring them into practices and get benefits from them.
Odisha is very rich in all aspects, be it spiritual, cultural, traditional, artistic, scientific development as well as natural resources. Odisha had a golden past which enlightened the whole world with its charisma but as days passed these facts lost their brightness due to accumulation of dust of wrong interpretation and difference of thought due to generation gap. ‘Best of Odisha’ is not only an organization but it is a movement to explore the gems from the past, polish them with modern techniques , present them before the present generation and prove that these gems can never lose their brightness. They used to shine in the past, are shining in the present and will shine in future too.
Today we have arrived in such a strange situation when the people from other parts of the world are getting more and more attracted by our age old traditions. They are feeling pride in discarding their traditions and adopting ours. In the contrary our present generation are unable to understand the values of our traditions and getting more and more attracted by the culture of other parts of the world. We at ‘Best of Odisha’ understand the fact that our modern life style has become so hefty that we hardly find time to follow our old ethics and hence get deprived from benefits. Hence we at ‘Best of Odisha’ intend to form a bridge between the past, present and the future in the light of modern thoughts, i.e. present the gems from the past before the present in such a way that our future will love them. Soon we will be able to create a separate place for we Odias as well as our mother land Odisha in the heart of every person in the whole world.
“IN PAST WE WERE, WE ARE AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE TORCH BEARERS TO THE WHOLE WORLD”.
