Jagannatha Das- Atibadi or Atibada?

Jagannath Das popularly known as Atibadi is a household name in Odisha for his Odia Bhagabata.During my childhood I was curious to know the meaning of 'Atibadi' which was explained as big or great. Sixteenth century Bhakti movement forerunner Sri Chaitanya used to refer Jagannath Das as atibadi. But later I found that there is no such word in Odia.Then how did this word come to exist?
Sri chaitanya viewed only Lord Krishna as the only male and all human beings as female including himself. So he referred Jagannath Das as atibadi thinking the feminie gender of atibada to be atibadi. But in Odia there is no such term unlike other Indian language such as Hindi.So in terms of linguistics atibadi is wrong. But the major fallacy is referring a male as female. Faith, belief is personal thing. One may consider himself or other person as female according to his belief;but nobody will accept a male using kumari or srimati before his or some other male person's name. Ironically in case of Jagannath Das this has happened. We are referring him as atibadi for last five hundred years. Across the world various mistakes are being corrected how old it may be. I think it is high time to think over it and take corrective measures.

Gold mine in Odisha

Kunderkocha is a less known gold mine in Odisha situated in Bahalda tehsil in Mayurbhanj district and it has spread to Jharkhand. Britishers exploited this mine for some years in the early part of twentieth century. Now mining work is going on in the Jharkhand side. One is not sure about any plan from Odisha for exploitation of this gold mine.

Odia designed new Arjuna award statuettes

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has redesigned the National Sports and Adventure awards/trophies to give them a new look.The statuettes/medals of Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, Dhyan Chand Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, and Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award have been redesigned completely to depict the human aspiration for excellence and achievement embodied in the sporting endeavor. Artist Gajendra Sahu who has redesigned Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, Dhyan Chand Award and Tenzing Norgay Award, is a senior faculty member at the B.K. College of Government Arts and Crafts College at Bhubaneswar.

Prince dance group of Odisha

Prince dance group of Ambapua,Berhampur made Odisha proud by winning the reality show 'India's got Talent' on Colors channel. This group consists of talented dancers who were daily labourers and have physically challenged persons also. Chief minister of Odisha Navin Pattanaik was so impressed with their performance that he himself voted and appealed others to vote for the group in the final. Now he has ordered to open a dance academy in Berhampur on priority basis. We wish the group more success in future.

Buddha Ganesha in Cuttack

Millennium city Cuttack has some unique traditions. One such example is worship of Buddha Ganesha(buddha=old; not Gautam buddha). Originally Bania sahi of Cuttack was celebrating this unique tradition. Now some other places like Mangalabag, Balubazar, Choudhury bazar are also following this tradition. Buddha Ganesha is worshiped for around nineteen days- till Dyutibahan(Mulasttami). Idol of Lord Ganesha is immersed after offering Him 'ghanta' tarakari.

e-admission

This year Department of higher education in Odisha has introduced e-admission in 60 junior colleges on pilot basis for efficiency and transparency in admission process of plus two classes.

Power crisis in Odisha

Odisha is the first state in India to reform power sector and privatize it. Till last year we were surplus in electricity(though many villages are yet to be electrified). But due to rapid industrialization,growth in population,climate change,change in peoples' life style we are now facing power crisis.In this hot and humid summer power cut is making life miserable. Odisha has potential for more hydel and thermal power project. We have to take immediate steps to increase power production before the situation goes beyond control.