I Was Born in Orissa but Bought Up in the Middle East

7/28/2019 I Was Born in Orissa but Bought Up in the Middle East

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I was born in Orissa but bought up in the Middle East. So Orissa (Odisha now!! Not then) was something very alien tome. Even though living in the Middle East with Oriya parents my Oriya was not great to begin with. I was

eventually shippedto Orissa after my 10th

Grade (as my parents said) to learn the ways of my ancestors and find

myself (i.e. I was horrible at studies and my parents wanted to add a cool spin to it). It took me a year to adapt andafter completing +2, I had changed to the regular run of the mill Toka".

I then landed up in KIIT Bhubaneshwar after 2 years in Keonjhar, ragged like crazy even though technically ragging

was not allowed.Cut to the chase I eventually cleared my engineering. And was promptly shipped by Accenture toBangalore.

Oh wait, now begins the real story, before all this running around for career I met Suchsmita Bhagat Long storyshort we were the perfect example of love over the internet (Facebook,orkut,Hi5, talk and skype all played their roleperfectly in our version of cyber love.)

I always consider Soni(Suchismita Bhagat ) as the ultimate Oriya chick with the Khattis and Cuttacki attitude

promptly embedded into her. She loves everything Orissa and not one day passes by when she doesnt pine away for

the dusty roads of Dolmundai Chakka on her rusty Scooty.Well one thing led to another and here we are happily

married almost a year and a half with my improved Oriya vocabulary and the craze for returning to Orissa keeping me

awake at nights.

Even though none of my friends believed my marrying an Oriya girl, I would just like to say that marry an Oriya girlbecause here are some of the advantages :

1) Crash Course to the joys of Oriya Food


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Unlimited portions of Mutton Kasa.

Pakhal Bhaath made the right way.

Guided tour of Cuttack eventually leading to PPMC(Professor Pada Mutton Chop) and Royal Biriyani.

The joy of sitting behind your wife when she weaves in and out of traffic just to make sure you taste the perfectchuski.

DAHI BAARA ALOODAM breakfast , lunch or dinner.

GupChup a.k.a Panipuri for guys who dontget it.

Love Fish my friend ? You will get a ton of it to eat!! And sea food will be delivered fresh. None of that frozen cr*pyou get.

Egg Roll Egg Chicken Roll- Double Egg Chicken Roll ---- the list goes on.

Eating is now a secondary hobby and my ever-increasing waistline is proof of the same. Please for one secondthough dont think that I have married my wife for the food (Subtle wink) That is just an added bonus.

2) Mother-In-Law who is crazy about you and treats you better than her daughter going to extent of forgetting herbirthday but remembering yours instead.

3) Undying support of all the bhaisyour wife has accumulated over the years. These might be the "rakhi"brothers or even her brother who till the wedding looked at you with all the hate he could manage. (I am still scared ofhim )

4) The procedure of calling anyone Bhaina at the drop of a hat to diffuse a particularly tense situation. May it bethe policeman, the politician or even the local waiter. And it does work outside Orissa. I have tried it at Burger King.They always respond.

5) Shopping The best of ethnic wear found at a throw away price. Utkal textiles and few other places. And thePipli hangings have been a craze with all my work colleagues and friends. Also while wearing a saree your wife willbe exotic especially when you say Orissa.

6) YOU will be introduced to Akshaya Mohantys music. AND YOU BETTER LIKE IT.


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7) Orissa has a flag !! YES IT DOES.

8) Cursing in Oriya is an art and I have now mastered a certain aspect of it. This however you will pick up from theminute you get down at the airport and the driver is cut off by a bicycle driver.

9) There is a Buddhist Circuit in Orissa which is truly awesome !! Ratnagiri and Udayagiri and allthat.Enigmatic.There is no other joy in the world than exploring it on a bike.

10) The art of bribing the havaldars when required. And the liberal use ofbhainadoes always help. And if someoneyounger you can always apply for the student discount !!

11) The beautiful Ring road at Cuttack. It has a certain riverside charm. Cant be explained till experienced.

12) Bargaining for everything. You will learn it from your wife predominantly and itdoesnthelp when you wife has anMBA in finance.

This list is ever endless but let me wind up by saying that even though I dated on and off with various girls I dontknow what dragged me back to finding the love of my life in an Oriya Girl. Maybe its the extra dose of love which anOriya girl can shower on you without expecting much in return. Or maybe its just that Orissa holds a deeper meaningin every Oriyas life. Whatever it might be it happened.

Marry an Oriya girl.You cant imagine the new life you will be introduced to.

Contributed By : Subhayou Nayak.

The writer is based in Kuwait and still wonders why is he stuck in the God-Forsaken-Desert. He describes himself asa 28 year old "Khaanti" Oriya and loves reading and writing. The post written above is certainly very personal and we


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are honoured that he decided to share such an important aspect of his life with us. All the readers are requested torefrain from commenting on the writers personal life. Any derogatory comments will not be entertained.

We wish him and Soni a very happy life ahead.

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I Was Born in Orissa but Bought Up in the Middle East