A father’s diary

The article is all about experience of a father whose son was promoted to Class Prep from Nursery. My (the blogger Himanshu Guru) son was promoted to the Prep Class in Delhi Public School (DPS), Bhubaneswar. Kids don’t need to appear an examination; but they get promoted to the higher Class through assessment and here is also the same case. However, there are some memorable moments which I would like to share. Parents of school going kids may love the piece to read.

Last year, after a thorough analysis we (me and my wife) finally decided to admit Aaradha Guru (now 5 year old), also called Hardhik, my son, in the Delhi Public School at Phulanakhara in Cuttack district. We live at Metro Satellite City in Hanspal and the School is in a minimum distance (about 10 kilometers) from our place. Besides, ranking of DPS is also very good. Again, the School bus comes right inside our colony to pick and drop the students, which was another point of selection for us.

We were in look of the advertisement for admission. In December 2015 once when I was coming through the over bridge, saw the display board in front of Utkal University. Immidiately I noted down the phone number and later called the School. The next day I went to the School to buy the form and prospectus. These facts may not be interesting for reading; but the first experience of starting the admission process of a son was thrilling for me.

The next step was to make the kid ready for the interview he would have to face to get admitted. Hardhik is very effectionate and still his diction is not clear. Especially since he loves me a lot, when he talks with me his voice is adorable. It may be a shortcoming for a student but this is a precious thing for me. However, it was the thing to be dealt with in the interview. My wife also took pain to teach him about the numerics, letters and other things that was mentioned in the prospectus.

We were called for the interview in February 2016. The teacher showed some clay items and wanted Hardhik to tell the names. Fortunately he answered everything correctly. After some more questions she intimated that the kid was selected and we should proceed to the first floor for admission. We discussed about the fees and other requirements and we were given another day for admission.

After a few days we three (me, Hardhik and my wife) went to the School for admission. I reached the reception where a beautiful teacher instructed me to first visit the cash section to pay the fees. I knew I needed to pay the thick fees which is amounting to around Rs. 80, 000, but back in that moment I got a feel that in these big short schools you have to pay for everything first and then only your chance begins. After paying the fees we proceeded to the admission section where a teacher noted down detail of the kid and parent. I recall, she wrote the details in black ink in a big register and finally said ‘welcome to DPS’. I thanked God for making me eligible to finally become father of a student.

The first day of Hardhik in School

Hardhik’s classes started in April.  On the first day I took him to the gate of Metro Satellite City (about 200 meter from our house) to catch the bus. We decided to send him in the bus so that he can learn going in a bus alone. Of course other students were there but he was not introduced to them till then. Later me and my wife went to the School in our car. It took us some time to reach the junior section’s building. We went inside and looked for Hardhik in his class room; but he was not there. We looked here and there and went nervous as we did not find him. Till then he was not issued with the identity card. We asked the teacher about our son. She assured that he should be somewhere inside the building. It was a bit relaxing for us but still we were severely worried. Finally my wife went to the first floor where she found him standing accompanied by a teacher. Since there was no identity card and the four year kid could not intimate her about his Class, she was waiting for the parents. When I saw him coming down through the staircase with his mom, I felt life returned back to me. We took him to his classroom and soon the teacher started teaching them. I recall, she showed a big teddy and asked the kids ‘who can say what is this?” when most of the kids were crying.

Later on that day I went to the bus stop to receive Hardhik. He got down from the bus wearing a paper made yellow crown. It was a memorable moment for me. He intimated that the crown was provided in the School.

Hardhik in the School bus

Daily routine

Hardhik started regularly going to the school. To catch the bus at 6 40 am daily we needed to awake at 6 am. I never awoke such early only besides a few occasion. But I had to follow the routine. I use to watch movies or working on the computer till late night. So, the task was tough. But thinking of the affection I managed the new routine.

I used to take him in my bike. He was wearing the normal uniform that constituted of a half pant. After few days rainy day began and we started going in our car. He used to waive his hands with a smile when we were parting. I also was receiving him at 12 15 pm. One day I became late for a few minutes and became worried. But someone else in our colony had brought him and my wife called me and intimated about it.

Winter days

With coming of the winter days the school intimated us to make the kid wear the winter school uniform that constituted of a full pant, full shirt and a sweater. When we were going in the bike Hardhik was sitting in front of me. I used to ask him whether he was feeling cold. He always said no, but actually he was feeling. Hence, later I tried whether he can manage to sit in the rear seat so that the wind will not dash. Thankfully within a few months he could make it.

The foggy day

Life went on and once a foggy day came. That day Hardhik cried not to go to the school. On such occasions we used to take him to his school directly in our car. We three set out. There was dense fog that day. All the vehicles on the road were driving with their head lights on. But still it was tough to see an object which was even 10 meters away. I could not judge the Phoolanakhra turning and we almost reached Cuttack. There I asked a man who intimated that we left the turning about 7 kms back. We reached the school late. But Hardhik cried not to leave him there. Somehow we left him but he continuously cried and so we decided to take him back for that day.

Hardhik (2nd from right on the back row) during the Grand parents day

Grandparents’ day

One day we got notice in the almanac that the school is going to organise Grand Parents day and we are required to pay an amount and the kid’s grand parent should be present on the occasion. I intimated about it to my father. I was not expecting he would come. But he came all the way from Balangir (around 450 kms) we all attended the function. It was a very emotional and exciting moment when we saw him on stage wearing the costume. Even no parents were on their seats but perhaps all the parents were recording the moment in their cell phones.

The last days of Nursery

During the last days we saw everyday, more home task was given. Finally, we got intimation that we are required to attend the Parents teachers meet where promotion of the kid to the upper Class (prep) will be announced. We attended the function where Sweti maam, Hardhik’s Nursery Class teacher, intimated that he will attend the prep class once the school will reopen on 21^st March 2017. 

‘Biju Patnaik Rural hockey Championship’ launched

Bhubaneswar, 20th September: hockey tournament “Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Championship” was launched today at Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar. The tournament will operate under the aegis of ‘Dilip Tirkey Sports research and development Foundation’. The championship shall begin from November and continue till March 2017.

Vishal Kumar Dev, secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, international sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik , India’s former hockey captain Padmashri Dilip Tirkey , ‘Prelude’ director Satyabrat Sanu Ratho , business leader Bramha Mishra and other dignitaries unveiled and launched the logo.

More than 1500 teams from rural areas in and around Odisha shall be participating in this event which should make it one the biggest sports tournament in the entire world.

Sri Ajit Pal, treasurer, Dilip Tirkey Sports research and development Foundation heartily welcomed the gathering. Managing trustee Dilip Tirkey Sports research and development Foundation Shri DilipTirkey gave focused on the unrecognized sports persons, in his speech. He said, “the talents, who can’t come to the forefront due to lack of proper training, finance and infrastructure don’t come to the foreground should be encouraged.

“Talents when given proper direction shall help strengthen our national team. Promoting it in the rural area will not only spread awareness but also help them move ahead in the field of hockey. Apart from identifying talents and training them, this movement shall help bring the previous glory that India had as a Hockey champion in the minds of people,” Tirkey added.

He further thanked Padmashri SudarsanPatnaik and Padmashri IgnaceTirkey (former India Hockey captain) for agreeing to be The Brand Ambassadors of the Championship.

Sri Vishal Dev expressed his happiness that such mega events taken across rural areas will actually bind our youth and motivates them for sports and other positive youth activities.

Internationally acclaimed sand artist Padmashri Sudarsan Pattnaik who has designed the logo was extremely happy to be a part of this grand initiative. “I shall be promoting this championship through all things artisticand hope to make this event popular across the globe. Our players are extremely talented. They just need the right push and promotion,” he said.

Akash celebrated Birthday with elderly

Renowned Odia actor and politician Akash Das Nayak turned 34 on September 17, 2016. Like the previous years, this time too he mixed charity with the celebration. Akash presently is a member of the legislative assembly of Odisha. This time he celebrated his birthday along with the elderly from Sai Krupa Old Age Home in Bhubaneswar.

As a token of love Akash took the elderly persons to Puri. All of them enjoyed in the sea beach and later visited the famous Jagannath temple of Puri. Some youths from social service group “We for You” helped coordinate the trip where around 45 elderly visited Puri.

“It’s a tradition. Every year, be it my birthday, Holi, Ganesh Puja or any other occasion, I come down to orphanages or old age homes. Celebrating with friends and relatives is what we generally do but I believe if I spare some time and come down here with my family and celebrate with them then that joy becomes manifold. My message to everyone is to make a little effort to come and visit them. These people here have spent almost an entire lifetime; spending time with them will enable us to know insights about life from the experiences they share. Their blessings are no less than a parent’s blessings.” After the holy darshan and a sumptuous lunch of “Abhada”, Akash also presented them gifts.

Aum – star technician of Bollywood

Although identity of Orissa is like a poor state in the national arena for a few cases like sale of the child etc. in the KBK districts, that is not the whole story. Come filmdom, the current film fraternity knows it well that no Bollywood film can be made at this time without the involvement of Oriya guys/girls. May it be acting, singing, direction or technology, contribution of Oriya people is most essential in contemporary Hindi Film Industry. Aum Prakash Mohapatra, youngest brother of awarded film director Sabyasachi Mohapatra is the first person to operate a professional jimmy jib crane in Bollywood. Hence, some people also call him the father of jimmy jib in India. Himanshu Guru chatted with him to register his journey in filmdom.

Aum initiates his journey as an assistant cinematographer through Halo in 1996 followed by Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se in 1998. In the mean while Bollywood gets introduced with latest camera equipment ‘Jimmy Jib’. About his early days Aum intimated, “While shooting a commercial for Centro car, Shah Rukh comes to know about the equipment from the Chinese crews and wants to purchase one. But problem was who would operate the crane. The star approached legendary cinematographer Santosh Shivan, who suggested my name. Accordingly I was sent to USA for short term training on Jib. When returned from there I started working in Hindi films as a jimmy jib operator.”

In a short while Aum became the most talked about name in the film units as all the big banner producers as well as the top celebrities depended on this young guy to operate the jib to take the amazing shots. And in this way he became the star technician. Today we have a number of Jimmy Jib operators, but still Aum enjoys the credit of being the top operator.

A jib is basically a crane with the camera attached on one end and a counterweight and the camera controls on the other. This crane permits the camera to be moved vertically, horizontally, or a combination of the two. A jib is often mounted on a huge tripod or similar support. Since the camera operator is often not able to use the camera's controls directly or look through the camera's viewfinder, a jib is often used in conjunction with a remote camera control for focus and zoom and with a portable video monitor. Some advance versions of the Jib is the mostly used equipment in Bollywood films these days.

Aum has many Bollywood blockbusters to his credit like Mohabattein, My Name Is Khan, The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey, Veer-Zaara, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Ashoka, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Khakee, Paanch, Chandni Chowk to China, Bluffmaster!, Tare Zamin Par etc. as Jimmy Jib operator. He is also the DOP of Oriya films like Jai Jagannath, Salabudha.

Aum said, “I feel myself lucky enough for what I am now in Bollywood. I’ve worked with all the top-notch actors starting from Amitabh Bachan to Shah Rukh Khan. I have also travelled a number of countries and now enjoying stardom as a celebrity technician in Bollywood. But my heart always remains in my birth soil and I am proud to announce that I am an Oriya. I love ‘pakhal’ (Watered rice) and think that whatever I have achieved is due to blessings of God and the good wishes of Orissa”.

Odishi dancer G. Nageshwari

G. Nageshwari is a young girl from Bhubaneswar, who has got opportunity to showcase her Odishi dance aptitude, not only in the country, but has also performed in far countries like Japan and Malaysia. Trained under the tutelage of Guru Sri Gajendra Kumar Panda, Nageshwari (21) belongs to the Guru late Debaprasad Das gharana (style) of Odishi dance. Born to Annapurna and Janardhan Rao, the youngster is educated ‘Alankara Poorna’ in Odishi dance. She completed her High School education from the Government Girls’ High School in Unit I and then did her +2 from Kamala Nehru Women’s College. She completed her graduation in commerce from the Rama Devi Women’s University. She has completed post graduation in Odishi dance from All India Gandharvya University, Pune (study centre in Orissa).

Nageshwari started dancing too early when she was in Class III. Her elder sister Jyotirekha taught her steps for a folk number ‘Chaka Janha Kede Jhilimili’, which she danced in the school competition and got a prize. Then she performed in a public show in Balasore and there was no looking back.

Revealing about her strength in Odishi dance the youngster said, “I am proficient in ‘Lakhyasindura’, ‘Guru Brahma’, ‘Ganga Taranga’ of ‘Mangalacharana’, ‘Chhota sthayi and bada sthayi of sthayi, ‘Kalabati’, ‘Basanta’ and ‘Khirabani’ of ‘Pallavi’, ‘Jagabatara’, ‘Astasambhu’, ‘Shibastakam’, ‘Kede Chhatra’ and ‘Mana Uddharana’ of ‘Abhinaya’.” Mangalacharana, Sthayi, Pallavi, Abhinaya and Mokhya are the main phases of a complete Odishi recital.

We can see a number of dancer statues in the temple walls. Do these statues inspire an Odishi dancer? Nageswari replied, “We find ‘mardala’, ‘parswa mardala’, ‘alasa,’, ‘aaina’ and ‘abhimani’ type of female dancers in these statues. There is lot to learn from the positions of these statues.”

Nageshwari’s style of dance is called ‘TRIDHARA’. About the name she said, “since the style comprises of Odishi, Sambalpuri folk and tribal dance, it is called ‘Tridhara’. ‘Chaukapada’ is often used in this style.”

Does Odishi dance have any special and luring thing, which differentiates it from other classical dance? Nageshwari said, “You can find ‘tahia’, a fascinating head gear, only in Odishi. No other dance includes this. One can see tahia worn by Lord Jagannath in His head during the car festival.”

Nageshwari performed in a number of popular festivals including in - Khajuraho Dance Festival, Konark Dance Festival, Mukteswar Dance Festival, Puri beach festival, Baliyatra and Indian dance festival in Chennai. So far she has performed in front of dignitaries like Chief Minister Naveen Pattanik, Gajapati Maharaja Sri Divyasingh Dev, Governor of Orissa Sri Murlidhar Chandra Kant Bhandare, President of India Sri Pranab Mukherjee. She also assisted Guru Gajendra Panda in many national and international workshops. She also received the Balashree Scholarship from Govt. of India.

Asked to reveal the most interesting moment of her dancer life Nageshwari said, “In Tokyo, our group was going to perform in an open air auditorium when it started raining. We were planning to cancel the show when we saw that the audience is waiting for us drenched in water. Without delay we started dancing even if it was raining. It was a lifetime memoir for me.”

The dancer has also an embarrassing incident to her credit. She said, “I was performing in Malaysia when I found that my ‘Bengapatia’ (the gear worn on the waist) was unhooked. Within some seconds I came out of the stage, pinned it up and again I was in the performance. In this choreography I was not just a group dancer, but I was playing an important character and so could not be absent. Moved by my immediate action a woman presented me a garland of flowers. I don’t know the name of this flower but I was intimated that it was the most costly flower of their country and costs Rs. 2000/- in Indian Currency.”

Nageshwari’s top inspirer is legendary Odishi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi. None of her parents were dancers.

The other side of Nageshwari is that she also is a national level Kho-kho player. She represented her school nationally when she was in Class VIII. “I am also a social worker at mind. I love to help people. And I love chicken biriani and watered rice,” she added.

However, the young dancer is sad about the fact that Odishi is not appreciated that much in the state. She said, “While we get admiration oversees for our dance, people in the state seem hardly interested for it. I was dancing in Adivasi mela when I found that the audience started to quit the gallery. It really hurts.”

Nageshwari’s mantra is ‘Love dance and promote Odishi”.

Topics of cinema is not limited to earth

Initiating its voyage from ‘Alam Ara’ in 1936 Hindi Film industry so far has passed decades. With this span of around hundred years it has presented numerous films to woo audiences of different filmy taste. 

The creative aptitude of directors has brought forth a series of films on poles apart subjects. It includes periodic films, sci-fi movies, action movies, family drama and many more. Again, while films like 999 gives a brief idea of an ongoing issue, writers even have not skipped to pen absurd movies. Interestingly, film making is not only limited to the earth, even flicks have been made taking topics from out of the world. 

In ‘Ambarstadom’ while a team of crew moves to the space to set everything right at the high sky, action sequence have also been picturised in the space. The popular English series ‘James Bond’ presents some thrilling action sequences in the space, above the world. Not only on the higher altitude but films like ‘Journey to the Centre of the earth’ leads the pivotal characters of the flick to the centre of the earth where they find miraculous objects and comes across fantasy sequences. It seems human mind has no limitation to think. 

Following footsteps of Hindi and English films Oriya film industry has also presented films like ‘Keun Jagataru Asila Bandhu’, a story based on aliens. If we go for a micro level analysis of the flow of films in different languages we find a lot of information, entertainment and showcase of hard-core acting, stunt and action aptitude by the actors.  

Multilingual theatrical treat

Matkhai Mahotsav is a unique effort by ‘Bhumika’, the leading theatre group from Balangir. The multilingual drama festival showcases plays written and staged in different parts of the country. After its inception in 2007 it has travelled a long way and the festival’s message has spread far and wide. The festival has become instrumental in spreading socio-economic and socio-political awareness. In this context I chatted with some biggies of the entertainment world as well as silver screen to register their perspectives on this festival.

Udayan Aparajit is an Oriya actor who has a couple of big-budget Kannada films to his credit. He was cast as the protagonist in these films. The actor said, “Although so far I have not got a chance to witness the festival, I am tracking it for the last few years. Over the years Matkhai Mahotsav has received overwhelming response, not only from the theatre community but from the audience too. The festival has become a most-awaited theatre festival in Odisha.”

“Matkhai Mahotsav has earned accolades from an array of national-level theatre personalities. The multilingual drama fest is a unique effort since it brings chance for cultural exchange. In these days, people have big craze for films and theatre is losing its erstwhile popularity. But a true actor knows that theatre is the base for acting. Hence, it is time to shine talents of the actors on the stage, before venturing for films. I will really be happy if someday I will be invited there,” said renowned singer Susmita Das from Bhubaneswar, who is a member of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Actress Sunita Babu narrated her experience of the festival. She said, “I have attended Matkhai multilingual drama festival once. It hosts plays in Hindi, Koshli, Bhojpuri and Bengali languages. I enjoyed watching the play titled 'Gara Bandha'. The story revolved around royal tradition. The central character of the play was an associate of the king. In fact he was the bait to trap the animal when the king went for hunting. The play depicted the life and struggle of Gara Bandha, the victim. It conveyed an emotional social message.”

“The name of the festival itself indicates the rich heritage of the land. It is great that the festival has been named after a hill situated in the region,” said ‘Hari Bhai Harena’ fame actor Sunil Kumar.

“I am involved in theatre in Mumbai and still continuing even after doing a number of Oriya films. I know well the value of theatre. The contribution of Matkhai Mahotsav is big, as it provides a platform to the theatre groups across the country to showcase their talents. The festival is truly a confluence of multiple languages. It is a rare affair,” he added.