Missing Memories

Plant A Tree : Not A Man

It is said that he who plants a tree, plants a hope. The hope is that someday the plant will grow to be a big…

The Golden Days

Life has few memories which never fade with the tides of time. In 1975, I finally opted to join the local college Vyasanagar College for…

Fast Pedaling to the Future

My father had got an English Raleigh cycle in his younger days which was a proud possession for him. In those days our entire village…

Life in an idyllic village

It was the evening of 6th May, 1960. I came to this world as the first child of my parents. The village midwife performed the…

Sukinda Gandhi: A Forgotten Hero

During British rule, Sukinda was a princely state adjacent to Keonjhar state on one side, Dhenkanal and Balarampur state on the other. The Singhdeo royal…

Tarunkanti – The Master Story Teller

Tarun Kanti Mishra is a front-ranking fiction writer in contemporary Odia literature. Born in the year 1950 in a village in Anandpur sub-division in Keonjhar…

JP – The Gem of Odia Literature

Jagannath Prasad Das, more famous as JP or JP Das, is a very familiar name in not only Odia Literature but also in pan-Indian literature…

The Sky Unlimited

During my growing up years, Sitakant Mohapatra was already an icon in Odia poetry. Although he happened to be a bilingual writer he chose to…

Dasia Aja: The Lighthouse

In the early eighties, I came in contact with Dasarathi Patnaik fondly called Dasia Aja in a literary event. In those days he was a…

Shantanu Acharya: A Shining Star

In the year 1979, I got admitted to Vanivihar for my post-graduation studies. It was one of my first priorities to meet Shri Santanu Acharya,…

Ramakant Rath: The Poet Laureate

Ramakant Rath is a name to be reckoned with in the field of contemporary Indian Poetry. He is a legend in his lifetime. A poet…

Phani Mohanty: ‘Prince of Puspadhanu’

His poems always speak of love and loss in life. He has written thousands of love poems but when quipped about the inspiration behind such…

Jayant Mahapatra: The Doyen of Poetry

I first heard of Jayant Mahapatra when he bagged the Central Sahitya Akademi award for his poetry collection ‘Relationship’ in 1981. Everyone was taken by…

Hara Prasad: The Philosopher Poet

Hara Prasad Das is a name to be reckoned with in contemporary Odia literature. He excels as a poet, an essayist, a columnist and a…

The Dreamer and His Dreams

The daily newspaper Dharitri brings out an annual issue in the month of November each year containing writings of eminent authors on the occasion of…

Patasani : The Poet turned Politician

In mid seventies a literary function was organised on the outskirts of Jajpur Road under the auspices of ‘Chalapath’, a local literary organisation floated by…

Ashok Meena: My Mentor

Ashok Meena is an IAS officer of 1993 batch who hails from Rajasthan and graduated from IIT Kanpur in Computer Science in 1992. In the…

A Tireless Bureaucrat

Tuhin Kanta Pandey who is presently Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management under Ministry of Finance in Government of India is considered to…

Sarat Chandran : The Savior

Towards the end of the last century, Odisha was almost in red. Most of the states had the same fate. The revenue expenditures exceeded the…

R. Balakrishnan: The Visionary

An IAS officer of 1984 batch Dr R. Balakrishnan is a great visionary. Hailing from Madurai in Tamil Nadu he was a post graduate in…

A. P. Padhi : Mr Cool

Shri A. P. Padhi , a 1383 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, was the longest serving Chief Secretary of the State. He had also…

VAT and Value Addition

Sales Tax was one of the important sources of revenue for the states since independence and with the passage of time it proved to be…

Subroto Bagchi: Man of Ideas

It was the afternoon of 2nd April, 2016. The first edition of Odisha Knowledge Hub Lecture Series was organized in the spacious RD Department Conference…

Servant of the People

I have seen during my life how the bureaucracy has degenerated into a self- serving group over the years and the way it behaves as…

GC Pati : The Game Changer

In September, 1998 I joined as the Circle head (then CTO now DCCT/ JCCT )of Puri Circle on promotion. In the first week of October…

My Best CCRs Made Public

It is my privilege to receive some commendations and outstanding CCRs consecutively for years together during my service career. Of course, at the initial years,…

JK : The Jewel

A public servant is expected to be fair, honest, and efficient. Jugal Kishore Mohapatra was truly a befitting person who had all these qualities as…

Dr. Taradatt : The Terror and the Targets

Dr. Taradatt is a much discussed name in Odisha Administration. He was famous as Terror Datt among his subordinates. He has himself mentioned about it…

Learning the Lessons of Finance

One day in October, 2013 Principal Secretary Finance, Jugal Kishore Mohapatra called me to his chamber and expressed his concern to find a suitable officer…

Civility of a Civil Servant

I am fortunate to have enjoyed the company of some of the bright civil servants of our state starting from my student days till date.…

The Radio Veterans

In the eighties, All India Radio was the most popular source of entertainment, education, and information in Odisha. Doordarshan was then in a nascent stage…

Newspapers: My First Love

Ever since my childhood I got addicted to newspapers. In those days in the sixties and seventies newspapers used to arrive by post and reach…

Neighbor’s Envy, Owner’s Pride

I am reminded of this iconic advertisement of Onida TV in Doordarshan years ago, which was a hot topic then and also brought instant success…

When Media Turns Yellow

My bonhomie with the media is very old. But in spite of having a good relationship with the press, I always remained at the receiving…

My Romance with Radio

During my early childhood in sixties one evening my father came with a Bush radio from Cuttack and it became an instant sensation in our…

Twin Tower Demolition: Key Takeaways

Within ten seconds twin towers Apex and Ceyane built by the realtor major Supertech in its Emerald Court compound in sector 93A of Noida built…

Sri Lanka: The Present and The Past

Sri Lanka is an island country close to India and has a lot in common from socio-cultural perspective. Now it’s in news for the acute…

Pitfalls of Politics

‘Politics is the last resort of the scoundrels‘, said George Bernard Shaw. However, my father Shri Rankanath Biswal chose to be a politician in his…

Revisiting Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA)

The enactment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was a historic step by the Union Government to regulate the real estate sector…

Observing Elections : Exciting experience

Elections in India were almost festivals of democracy. Posters, banners, placards, rallies and processions used to make it hugely expensive and provide an opportunity for…

The Tall Man

In 1991 I was in Delhi when the general election had been declared and the political atmosphere was charged. I called on Rabi Ray, then…