Preserving our mother tongue through classical music, poems

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BHUBANESWAR: Sambhabana, a non-profit organisation which focuses on strengthening and promoting Odia culture and heritage, inaugurated ‘Mahaka Matrubhasa’ at Jayadev Bhawan here Friday.
The week-long event celebrates International Mother Language Week with a gala evening. The event would be marked by Odia classical music, exquisite Odia classic poems, time-worn lullabies, famed Gitinatyas and other renowned Odia melodies.
UNESCO, a specialised agency of United Nations, has observed International Mother Language Day for nearly 20 years with the objective of preserving linguistic diversity and promoting multilingual education based on mother tongue.
The theme for this year’s International Mother Language day is ‘Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation’. The chief purpose of observing the day is to raise awareness regarding preserving one’s mother tongue. The day also espouses that all should be committed for the development of one’s native language.
Budding singers of the state rendered their voices to make this evening a memorable one. The audience enjoyed extravagant performances of such singers and were taken back in time.
Coordinator, Sambhabana, Deba Prasad Parija said, “At this time, we can clearly see the mushrooming of English-medium schools with major focus on English language. This is not a positive trend for native languages. Therefore, our chief aim is to stimulate the use of Odia language, nurture the vibrant Odia culture and enable it to reach a larger mass. We have to ensure that our heritage is in a safe zone.”
Ipsita Mohanty, a performer at the event, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be a part of the occasion. I am privileged to render my voice to famed Odia tunes which have somewhat faded away in the contemporary music scenario. Modern, pop and rock music are more popular among youngsters these days. It was a small effort from my side to stay rooted to my culture and music traditions. Hopefully we would get to see more such initiatives to boost preservation of Odia language.”
The event was graced by Chairman, Sambhabana, Sarat Chandra Bhadra, Director, Odia Bhasa Pratisthan, Tamasarani Das Mohapatra, Secretary, Culture and Heritage Department Manaswini Sahu and an acclaimed writer and speaker Dash Benhur. Trustee Smruti Mohanty hosted the function whereas Satyabrata Mohapatra, Rajashree Sathpathy, Prafulla Dey, Pranab Patnaik and Guru Prasad Mohanty added gloss to the occasion.