Cuttack : The true face of Indian Culture (By Aditya)
Life is strange…and stranger are its inhabitants. We live in a world which has different cultures in every corner of it. Different cultures, different life styles, different thoughts… When in one part of the world, the guitar and the stage attract people…in some other part, even holding up a guitar is considered as a dark mark in the society. Where divorce comes as an unwanted perk with marriage, somewhere else a divorcee is treated as a social outcast. You can find people who spend their entire life doping; you can also find geeks, who at most, would have just seen a Google image of cocaine. You can hear about people who consider examination answers written on a sheet as their life; at the same time you can also lectures from fellow humans eating a burger wrapped in the very same examination sheet.
In this vast, ever changing world, there exists infinite number of small worlds…with rules of their own. There is often swapping of members between these worlds, but that doesn’t change anything. Neither does it unite them.
But, there is one thing common among all these worlds. One thing which means the same in every world. One thing which no one can ever let go of. And that is …HOME.
Home is where a person, irrespective of what he is, longs to find himself at the end of the day. Because that is where, he can be true to himself and take off his camouflage.
And what makes your home even a better part of your life is your city. We all know the significance of our hometowns. Even on our worst days, if there is something which can bring up a smile on our gloomy faces then it is the thought of our hometown…our first and the only true love.
My hometown, or rather my city, is Cuttack…the first capital of the state Odisha situated in the country India. Situated at the banks of the two rivers Mahanadi and Kathajodi, it is one of the oldest cities of India. Even if I were not an inhabitant of Cuttack, I would have fallen in love with this city in one day. Such is the charm of Cuttack. This city is like one of the unsung hero cities of India. It represents and comprises of every single thing which constitute the Indian Culture. Cuttack is the true face of Indian Culture.
The best thing about this city is its unbelievably incredible combination of modern and the old ethical ways of life. People over here, irrespective of their age, are always happy. Every person over here has a friend, a foe, a lover, a guide…and of course memories. You will always find people of all age busy with their group at the banks of the two rivers…happily laughing out their lives.
A small city of radius 10 kilometers, Cuttack, is the living proof of how people of one city can just cut themselves off from the rest of the world with a smile on their face. The environment of Cuttack is such that a person gains eternal satisfaction from this city and would never want to step out.
Starting from temples, mosques, churches for the God-loving people…to the lonely, dark alleys for the wasted ones. From classy schools and colleges for the educated mass…to the open fields and stadium for the bunkers.From posh restaurants for the people with money… to the local mouth-watering junk food for others.
Cuttack also plays home to a wonderful international stadium, the Barabati Stadium, which hosts national football and international cricket and hockey matches. Cuttack is one place in India, unlike other cities, where cricket is not the only sport which catches the attention of the youth. Apart from Cricket, football, basketball, table tennis, hockey, kabadi also figure in the list.
A very delightful attraction of my city is the favourite cuisine of its people…and of all the people who visit my city. Dahibara Aludam. Cuttack, famous all around Odisha, as the place where this cuisine originated…it still remains the only place in this world which is able to give proper justice to this cuisine as far its taste is concerned.
Cuttack is geographically well located too. Its 30 kilometers away from a national airport, which is the reason of not much of traffic dilemma in this city, and 60 kms away from the shore.
A place where people help each other out, where neighbours treat you like their brothers, where the entire colony is happy lending a hand in your child’s marriage… its sure does remind us of our old, trivial and pure village culture along with the hunkish-punk ways of today’s world.
A place where pizza delivery guys are forgiven even when they are an hour late shows the calm, friendly nature of the people of this place. But, yes…people of Cuttack…especially the youth, are one of the bravest in the world. They are men with undying affection for anything close to their heart and can certainly go up to any extent for the same.
The reason as in why the people of Cuttack are always happy and content is that this place makes you forget life’s greatest evil thing. The thing which is the root behind every destructive or miserable feeling which can befall a person. Greed. The city of Cuttack loves its people so much that it’s atmosphere never does allow any kind of greed to get into the city and pollute it. Cuttack, till date, is as pure as it was a thousand years ago. And it shall forever remain the same.
Cities may rise and cities may fall but there will always be this city of Cuttack which gives out equal amount of love to every person living here. Yes, Cuttack is the city which loves its people back.
Article By : Young Novelist Aditya Acharya (Darkness … Even at Noon )
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