Day XIX and XX in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2021

 Yesterday afternoon as I came out a Shoe Store, saw couple of guys passing comments (local lingo for catcalls) directed at a girl passing by.

"EMITI SUNDARI KEMITI HELA

KOU PANI RE GADHAU THILA".

Roughly transliterated 

How could you turn out such a beauty,

In what water you bathed to be so pretty.

The girl didn't appear to be insulted as she stepped inside a Autorickshaw. Either she didn't care or took it as a compliment.

Two Babus are wrestling for the topmost post of the President of Bhubaneswar Club - A popular watering and networking hole in the capital located in the heart of the city. The lesser mortals are fighting for the lesser important positions. Last year's contest between Trump and Biden will pale in comparison to the aggressiveness in vote soliciting going around for these cherished posts. The campaign reminds me of BJB College Student Union Election. There is an African proverb - When two elephants make love or war it's the grass which suffers. Many Club members are irritated by way too much campaign solicitations in form of personal calls, emails and Whatsapp messages. Some freeloaders are taking advantage of campaign parties held at Bhubaneswar's premium hotels.

I went to do some marketing in Market Building - the Times Square of Bhubaneswar (Shopping is called marketing in local parlance, not to be confused with selling any product). The place wasn't too crowded. I made purchases from UTKALIKA, a Government owned enterprise which sells gift items related to the state's culture and tradition. Then from a nearby shop bought a few snack items including my favorite "Cuttuck Mixture" and "Badam Pakoda (Spicy peanut fritters)", which tastes far better compared to their counterpart Indian groceries in US.

My next stop was a store nextdoor selling cooking utentils and sundry items. Buyers clustered around it with masks perfectly covering their chins, barely a feet from each other. From a safe distance I shouted at top of my voice asking for the price of a Tea Kettle - "E KETTLE RA DAAM KETE (What's the price of the Kettle) ? He could not understand my pronunciation of "Kettle" and after me repeating the word couple more times he could finally make out - "OH KETILEE" (Oh, you need a Kettle) ? KETILEE vs Kettle, the meaning was lost in pronunciation. Didn't stick around too long in the Market Building as I thought it's prudent to stay away as much as possible from public gatherings during this pandemic period.

HAR EK MAAL (Street vendors) sellers come often to our locality selling their products, from trinkets to cloths and utensils. They come on bicycles and motorbikes. Over the years they have improvised. One I saw this morning had a recorded voice playing time and again in high decibel - DEKCHI 200 TANKA (Container 200 Rupees), KAREI 250 TANKA (Frying pan 250 Rupees), DANKI 100 TANKA (Spatula 100 Rupees). A few minutes later came another guy on a nondescript bicycle shouting at top of his voice "DABA TINA BIKRI KARIBE (Wanna sale Containers, Tins)". His dusty bicycle with a hanging, perforated leather seat, its two wheels with multiple patches on the tyres barely able to hold enough air, the tube almost touching the ground.

I have an account at the local State Bank of India from 18th Century. This Thursday when I visited the Bank, it was conspicuously less crowded. Then I realized that Thursday is the day of MAA LAXMI, Hindu Goddess of wealth - so a monetary transaction is best avoided on that day, lest one wants to attract the wrath of the Goddess which will leave you in penury. I was glad that I was there on a Thursday facing less crowd, especially during this pandemic time.

At Kalpana Square right in front of the Fire Brigade office there is a big bill board proclaiming NUAKHAI BHET BHAT (Meet and greet on the occasion of Nuakhai). Nuakhai is a major festival of Western Odisha is now conspicuously celebrated in Bhubaneswar, a place not native to this festival. At several places I haven't failed to notice the prevalent Sambalpuri dialect, popularly spoken in Western part of Odisha. 

It says one thing - Bhubaneswar is getting more and more cosmopolitan. During my growing up days Nuakhai was unheard of in the capital city of Odisha. Now big billboards in Bhubaneswar announce its arrival along the arrival of immigrants. The migrants to the state capital are not just limited to folks from other parts of Odisha. There is a sizable Bihari population, vindicated by the visible celebration of "CHHAT PUJA" in Bhubaneswar.

On the other side at the same location in Kalpana Chhaka there is another billboard advertising an Odia movie PHULEI GHARANI (Attention seeking wife). Every wife is attention seeking. It is enacted in everyone's home. One doesn't have to visit a movie theater to see its reincarnation. More later...