Confusion on ideology front has been a constant through the last seven decades. Still, the world is moving on and new trends and fascinations are appearing like in a kaleidoscope. Those belonging to a specific camp don't tend to worry. Certainty is their forte. Followers of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo, however, enjoy no such luxury since the predictions of Sri Aurobindo are distant in time and nebulous in nature. Belief in them, therefore, is a crucial factor.
My earliest political consciousness relates to agitations for inclusion of Seraikela Kharsawan, now in Jharkhand, in Odisha. Demand for granting Classical status to Odissi Music was also a perennial issue. But the intellectual climate was quite liberal. Many top writers and poets were The Mother & Sri Aurobindo's followers. As a result, a wide network of Sri Aurobindo Study Circles used to operate which has seen massive expansion. Hundreds of Schools are also functioning today.
If we compare this to the world situation, this gain, simply on the material scale, is something gigantic. When things are floundering everywhere else, a solid foundation is being built in Odisha with mass participation. This is all the more paradoxical as the State is hardly discussed in the national media. People don't take me seriously because my surname is Odia. Even the President is more famous as belonging to the Scheduled Tribes than representing the Odias. https://x.com/SavitriEra - https://bsky.app/profile/savitriera.bsky.social
Misc. References:
1. The Mother’s work in Orissa started in 1949 when two Study Circles were formed with Sri Aurobindo’s permission (One at Rairangpur in 1949 another at Cuttack in 1950).
https://www.mothersorissa.org/Home.aspx
2. Odisha’s katha in colour - June 17, 2013 The two volumes are a Jataka, a Panchatantra, a grantha, a history, an atlas and a travelogue all kneaded into one - Gopalkrishna Gandhi
https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/odishas-katha-in-colour/article4823723.ece/
3. The Big Book of Odia Literature - Manu Dash
https://www.penguin.co.in/book/the-big-book-of-odia-literature/
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