"Lord Jagannath" - the best Oriya Brand
The form of God closest to my heart and mind is Lord Jagannath. I am sure; it is the same for most of the people closely related to Orissa. Its not about religion. Its about faith. Its about association - both physical and meta physical.
I moved out of the state in 1994 to pursue further studies and since then have been staying away from Orissa apart from couple of visits in a year. I wanted to share a very interesting experience which most of Oriyas will agree. People who stay away from Orissa or people who visit outside place must have shared a similar experience sometime or the other. The experience is about communicating our identities.
It dates back to somewhere in 1994 when I was doing my graduation in Karnataka. I remember those days of a new environment coupled with heavy lingering homesickness. For the first time staying away from home that too..so far. When I shared my racial identity, one of them asked Orissa ?? Oh Yeah I know Orissa its a small town in Bengal. I was both surprised and feeling little out of place. The question arising again in my mind like earlier: Do these people don't know my place ? Am I an alien. Then suddenly another person in the group said. Hmm so you are from Orissa ... Jagannath Puri. This incident kind of repeated itself again and again in my life in different interactions with people from different races and languages.
So the question that came in my mind. Is Jagannath-Puri or Lord Jagannath our identity? For people in Orissa he is more than just a mere identity. Keeping all these factors away, I was just thinking about the day today materialistic living. Probably Lord Jagannath is the highest degree of identity for an Oriya.
So is that identity gives rise to a Brand. Well might be. There is a perception value attached to this brand. Its about being spiritual, being part of the celebration named Rath Yatra. Its can extend into many other things. For an Oriya to make a connection between an unknown land and community to its own identity the simplest and most effective way is through the God. Its Lord Jagannath.
I moved out of the state in 1994 to pursue further studies and since then have been staying away from Orissa apart from couple of visits in a year. I wanted to share a very interesting experience which most of Oriyas will agree. People who stay away from Orissa or people who visit outside place must have shared a similar experience sometime or the other. The experience is about communicating our identities.
It dates back to somewhere in 1994 when I was doing my graduation in Karnataka. I remember those days of a new environment coupled with heavy lingering homesickness. For the first time staying away from home that too..so far. When I shared my racial identity, one of them asked Orissa ?? Oh Yeah I know Orissa its a small town in Bengal. I was both surprised and feeling little out of place. The question arising again in my mind like earlier: Do these people don't know my place ? Am I an alien. Then suddenly another person in the group said. Hmm so you are from Orissa ... Jagannath Puri. This incident kind of repeated itself again and again in my life in different interactions with people from different races and languages.
So the question that came in my mind. Is Jagannath-Puri or Lord Jagannath our identity? For people in Orissa he is more than just a mere identity. Keeping all these factors away, I was just thinking about the day today materialistic living. Probably Lord Jagannath is the highest degree of identity for an Oriya.
So is that identity gives rise to a Brand. Well might be. There is a perception value attached to this brand. Its about being spiritual, being part of the celebration named Rath Yatra. Its can extend into many other things. For an Oriya to make a connection between an unknown land and community to its own identity the simplest and most effective way is through the God. Its Lord Jagannath.
