As Odisha turns 88 this year, since its independence from Bihar Province, the celebration of this day will be incomplete without reminiscing about the contributions of Utkal Sammilani and one of its prominent members, Utkalamani Pandit Gopabandhu Das. A social thinker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet, and essayist, who went on to become the flagbearer of the movement that later resulted in the formation of a politically separate state under British rule on a linguistic basis.
His famous lines on patriotism “Misu mora deha e desha matire, desabasi chali jaantu pithire, Desara swarajya pathe jete gaadha, misu tahin padi mora mansa hada” still reverberates in the hearts of every Odia. He was bestowed with the title of ‘Utkalamani’ (Jewel of Odisha) with mission, vision, and sacrifices by Prafulla Chandra Roy, the father of chemical science in India.
Utkalamani was born October 9, 1877, in a small village called Suando under Satyabadi police station in Puri district. The village is situated on the bank of the river Bhargavi, a sacred river for the people of coastal Odisha. While the ideology of Utkalmani transcended and flourished throughout the state, the native village and the ancestral house of the social worker remained in the same dilapidated condition since his death. The administration recently stepped in to renovate his ancestral house and beautify his village Suando Peeth to commemorate the freedom fighter.
On the 88th anniversary of Utkala Dibasa Sunday POST takes a look on the refurbishment of Suando, Utkalmani’s birthplace:
Natives of the village had been accustomed to seeing the village in ruins from time immemorial, and the acknowledgement of the village and its heritage was a long overdue.
Elaborating on the earlier derelict situation, a local says, “Nothing was done to commemorate him before, and that clearly reflected in our current and upcoming generations as they were unaware of his contribution to the state. In his ancestral house, in one of the rooms, Gopabandhu’s family deities, Binod Bihari (Krishna) and Radha, are worshipped, and even the divine presence did not bring any luck to this room.”
The current administration came forward to enshrine Suando by honouring it as a heritage village. The ancestral home of the eminent social thinker has been converted into a museum for people to visit and pay respect. A 15-foot bronze statue of Utkalamani has been installed with an idea to transform Suando into a heritage village. The road from Pattanaikia Chhak along NH-316 connecting the village of Utkalamani has been widened to facilitate better communication for visitors. The village entrance is also equipped with an information centre to guide visitors and provide information.
Rabindranath Das, a descendant of Gopabandu and caretaker of the house, is grateful for the renovation and commemoration. He says, “I feel happy and satisfied about the renovation of the birthplace of Gopabandhu Das. It may be a little late, but I am satisfied that people are considering visiting the place and showing love to it. I think people are happy to reclaim the birthplace of Utkalamani.”
He adds, “We were unable to repair the house as we had to depend on the income from the meagerly inherited agricultural land before the renovation. When the redevelopment project of Suando was announced in the year 2020, we were waiting for the project to be completed and watching the reactions of the public, who sometimes visit the birth place to offer homage. From the morning till the evening, people visit the place with their families and learn the events that happened with Utkalamani.”
Narrating the villager’s excitement, he comments, “The villagers are too delighted to see that the ‘village son’ has been respected in the state with the installation of a 15-ft bronze statue and a complete renovation of his house.”
Upon asking the local villagers about the redevelopment, some of them commented, “We are very happy to see that our village has been given some sort of importance by the people because of the redevelopment and because of Gopabadhu’s contribution to the state. I think it is because of his aspiration to make the state progressive and independent from the Bihar Presidency. We have heard the stories about him from our forefathers on how he struggled in his life and how he died before the freedom. We are happy that our village was the one where this braveheart was born and lived up to his name, making us feel proud.”