Bhubaneswar: More than 50 heritage enthusiasts from various parts of Odisha today participated in an interactive edition of “Aithihyara Ante” (Beyond Heritage) with a theme “Maa Bhasa, Maati Bhasa” (Language of the Mother and Motherland) focussing on the development of the Odia script and language. Young and veteran researchers and enthusiasts in the field spoke at length on this which was aptly organised inside Odisha State Museum, which has a rich collection of inscriptions, copper plates and palm-leaf manuscripts.
The eighth edition of “Aitihyara Ante” (Beyond Heritage) tried to explore the epigraphic treasure of the Odisha State Museum and along with the participating speaks the experts from the State Museum also spoke on the subject and the participating heritage and culture enthusiasts also spoke and raised several questions and made this linguistic journey a memorable one. The event started at 10.30 am in the morning from the lawns of the museum and ended at the auditorium around 1.30 pm with a short documentary on the palm-leaf conservation and Odisha’s treasure as the state has got one of the largest collections across India.
The young speakers and researchers like Soumya Ranjan Panda, Swetak Abhishek Mohapatra, Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, Prateek Pattanaik spoke and explained the development of the Odia script and its language and noted linguist and scholar Dr Subrat Kumar Prusty said how the “Odia or Kalinga script has evolved with a distinct and unique identity and as a race we should feel proud that we are one of the oldest scripts in the pan-Indian arena and the Sixth Classical status for Odia has really got its roots rooted since the 3rd Century BC or even earlier and we have all proofs with us.”
Epigraphist and independent researcher Bishnu Mohan Adhikari appealed to the participants and especially to the Odisha State Museum authorities to initiate a process to bring back the dated first inscription of Odia script named “Urjam Inscription” which was recovered in Andhra Pradesh, but it is still at a museum in Chennai as earlier the southern part of the state was under Madras Presidency.
The participants also visited the palm-leaf conservation wing of the Odisha State Museum and how the priceless palm-leaf manuscripts are kept following their restoration and treatment through various scientific methods. The museum authorities also displayed some select manuscripts for the heritage enthusiasts to see for themselves and realise how the process of conservation has created such a beautiful creation for the future generations.
It can be mentioned here that Beyond Heritage initiative has earlier covered topics like Temple architecture (at Parashurameswar temple), Martial heritage (at Barabati fort), Temple Food Heritage (at Bindusagar), Ekamra Astachandi (at Old Town Bhubaneswar, Maritime History of Kalinga (online), Math Heritage in Puri (at Puri) and Gajapati Kapilendra Deva (at Panda Pada in Cuttack). The group is mooting a future episode at the World Heritage site Sun Temple of Konark in near future.