Odisha, formerly Orissa, is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the third-largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India. It neighbours the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west, and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the south. Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres (301 mi) along the Bay of Bengal in Indian Ocean. The region is also known as Utkaḷa and is mentioned by this name in India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The language of Odisha is Odia, which is one of the Classical languages of India.
Odia is an Indo-Aryan classical language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha, where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odia is one of the many official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand.
The Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ), formerly spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak the Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations existing in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Kalinga script or Southern Nagari is a Brahmic script used in the region of what is now modern-day Odisha, India and was primarily used to write Odia language in the inscriptions of the kingdom of Kalinga which was under the reign of early Eastern Ganga dynasty. By the 12th century, with the defeat of the Somavamshi dynasty by the Eastern Ganga monarch Anantavarman Chodaganga and the subsequent reunification of the Trikalinga(the three regions of ancient Odra- Kalinga, Utkala and Dakshina Koshala) region, the Kalinga script got replaced by the Siddhaṃ script-derived Proto-Oriya script which became the ancestor of the modern Odia script.
Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist.
The history of cave paintings in India or rock art range from drawings and paintings from prehistoric times, beginning in the caves of Central India, typified by those at the Bhimbetka rock shelters from around 10,000 BP, to elaborate frescoes at sites such as the rock-cut artificial caves at Ajanta and Ellora, extending as late as 6th–10th century CE.
Madhusudan Das was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the prominent figure, helping in the creation of Orissa Province, which was established on 1 April 1936. He was also the first graduate and advocate of Orissa. He is also known as Kulabruddha, Madhu Babu, and Utkal Gouraba. In Odisha, his birthday is celebrated as the Lawyers' Day on 28 April.
Krushna Chandra Gajapati KCIE, also known as Captain Maharaja Sri Sri Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Deva KCIE, was a key personality and regarded as the architect, founding father of an Independent Odia Language speaking state Odisha. He was a scion of Paralakhemundi Estate and the owner of Delanga estate of Puri district of Odisha. His family belonged to the great Eastern Ganga Dynasty. He was the first Prime Minister of Odisha. The present-day Gajapati District of Odisha was named after him.
Pandit Godabarish Mishra was a poet and notable socialist from Odisha, India. He is known for his contribution to Odia literature.
Pandit Nilakantha Das (1884-1967) was one of the most illustrious sons of Odisha, who appeared both in its political and literary arena at the most crucial period of its history, when Odisha had no political identity in the map of India, and Odia as a language was about to be extinct. He worked relentlessly for Odisha's recognition both politically and linguistically, and helped bring to fruition the dreams of Utkala Gaurab Madhusudan Das, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das and all other Odia loving people.
Utkala Sammilani is an Indian social and cultural organization. It was founded in Odisha in 1903 by Madhusudan Das and continues in present times.
padmasri Satyanarayana Rajguru (1903-1997) was an Indian litterateur, epigraphist and historian. He was a curator and epigraphist at the Odisha State Museum and was a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Bharati Bhushan award, Ganjam Sahitya Sammilani award, Odisha Sahitya Academy Award and Sarala Sanman. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1974.
Subrat Kumar Prusty is an Indian Odia-language scholar, activist, social entrepreneur, literary critic and author. He is Member Secretary of the Institute of Odia Studies and Research, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He was instrumental in preparing the research documents, advocating the awarding of Classical Language status to Odia, forming Central Institute of Classical Odia, Odia University and implementation of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954. He was awarded the Presidential Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman – 2019 for Classical Odia.
Srujanika is an Indian nonprofit organisation headquartered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It works for research and innovation in science, education and development with a focus on Odia language. It has published a popular science books, and periodicals like Bigyan Tarang since 1988-89 that has 17 volumes and 105 issues. The organization was founded in 1983 by a couple Nikhil Mohan Pattnaik and Puspashree Pattnaik. It scanned a large volume of public domain and other books including 26 Odia dictionaries, all the 105 issues of Bigyan Tarang and other publications of their own. Srujanika collaborated with National Institute of Technology, Rourkela Pragati Utkal Sangha to create an Open Access repository called Open Access to Oriya Books that contains 561 digitally scanned books. On 12 November 2017, Srujanika launched their brand new website odiabibhaba.in containing digitised books, dictionaries, magazine and newspaper archives, reference material, language methods and other information.
Gudahandi also known as 'Gudahandi Hills' and 'Gudahandi Caves' is a pre-historic site in Odisha, India. It is located in the Ambapani sanctuary of Kalahandi district of Odisha. It is close to the Nabarangpur district Border and about 17 km and 88 km away from Ampani and District Headquarters Bhawanipatna respectively.
Baidyanath Misra was an Indian economist, educator, author, and administrator from the state of Odisha. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Deputy-Chairman of Odisha State Planning Board, Chairman of Odisha's First State Finance Commission, Secretary of Odisha State Welfare Board, founder Secretary and President of Orissa Economics Association, and the founder Director and Chairman of Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies. He wrote 16 books in English and 20 in Odia. He was also a columnist in several leading Odia journals and newspapers. He organised several camps across Odisha, for helping the cause of the poor and downtrodden.
The Kalinga Literary Festival, also known as KLF, is an International literary festival which takes place annually in the Indian city Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Rashmi Ranjan Parida is the founder director of the festival. The festival confers KLF Book Awards and three literary awards, which are Kalinga Literary Award, Kalinga International Literary Award, Kalinga Karubaki Award, annually to the noted Indian writers.
PanditRamhari Das is a leading singer, composer, musicologist and Guru of Odissi music. Known for his renditions, compositions, lecture-demonstrations and writings, Das has served as a professor and led the Odissi vocal department in prominent musical institutions of Odisha, including the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and the Utkal University of Culture. He is the founder of Ramhari Das Odissi Gurukula at Biragobindapur, Puri. For his contributions to Odissi music, Das received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2008.
Yogimath is situated in Nuapada district at a distance of about 9 km from Khariar western Odisha border area and 67 km from Bhawanipatna of Kalahandi District. This place is famous for its neolithic cave paintings. In Yogimath caves the paintings are drawn by red paint over rock surfaces. The most significant pictures are of a bull followed by cow, calf and a man indicating the domestication of animal by man and agriculture. The past glory of this place is still unexplored. Near Yogimath, there is a mountain named Risipiti which is well known for producing clear echoes.
Chittaranjan Das, popularly known as Chitta Bhai or Chitbhai, was an Indian writer, translator, critic, and social reformer from Orissa. A multilingual, he focused his works in Odia language, covering a wide range of topics including education, literature, cultural creativity, social criticism, social work, sociology, and religion.
