Bhubaneswar: Indonesian Ambassador to India Ina Krishnamurthi inaugurated BALI UNVEILED: Stories, Studies and More at the Bakul Library in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. The Ambassador, who was in Odisha as the Chief Guest for the Cuttack Bali Jatra, inaugurated this Festival of books and storytelling that also celebrated the work of Prof L K Mahapatra, a father figure in Anthropology in Odisha, who was the pioneer in India on research and teaching of South East Asia and Indonesia.
This festival was organised by Bakul Foundation, set up by Prof Mahapatra’s son, Sujit Mahapatra, Café 16 Satyanagar and the LKM Centre, set up in the name of L K Mahapatra. From November 6 to 16, anyone can come to the Bakul Library or to Café 16 and read books on Balinese and Indonesian Culture from Prof Mahapatra’s rich personal collection including his own writings. The exhibition also includes picture books for children, Balinese folktales and travel writings on Indonesia from the Bakul Library.
The Inauguration was very unique as the Ambassador set sail a boat in a book pond, a water tub surrounded by books, symbolizing how people travel through books to other cultures.
The Ambassador said she had come because of her deepest and highest admiration for the work of Bakul Foundation. She said that in promoting reading, BAKUL was creating the “the ideal world I’m imagining for our future and our children”. She said, “I can imagine how challenging it must be, and I really congratulate you for that because books represent a borderless world”.
She said that Indonesia owed a debt to Odisha because had it not been for Biju Babu and his heroism in saving their freedom fighters and founding fathers, Indonesia might never have existed. This exhibition at BAKUL was a bridge between thoughts, ideas and how collaboration between different people should be. It was truly an honour and pleasure for her to inaugurate this corner of love between Indonesia and India, she said.
Sujit Mahapatra, the founder of Bakul Foundation, spoke about how his father spent years researching in BALI and Indonesia as he was keen to demonstrate that Indian anthropologists were no less than Western anthropologists in researching about cultures outside their own country.
Prof K K Mishra, eminent anthropologist and former VC of Utkal University of Culture, talked about Utkal University under Prof Mahapatra’s leadership was the first University in India to introduce the study of South East Asia in 1983. He talked about the formation of the Association for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with Indonesia, with Prof Mahapatra as the President and how this society published the South East Asian Perspectives, the first journal on South East Asia to be published in India and the first international social sciences journal to be published from Odisha. He also gifted the Ambassador a copy of the first volume of the journal.
Sheela Mahapatra, Prof Mahapatra’s daughter spoke about how her father had taken her to stay with a Balinese family for 3 months and to learn Balinese dance so that she could experience Balinese culture and he could use that learning.
Sujit said the festival had many components such as Talks for adults and storytelling for children. Sheela was going to give a Talk on the 9th of August on her experiences of living with a Balinese family for 3 months and Prof Umakant Mishra will give a Talk on Monks, Mariners and Matrikas: Studying Kalinga’s trade and cultural Relations with East Java between 10-13th centuries CE.
The Ambassador also launched the online catalogue of the LKM Centre of Social Sciences, and anyone interested can explore the catalogue and if they wanted to read any book, they could come to the Bakul Library and read it.
The audience included many distinguished people including the former Union Labour Secretary, Arti Ahuja, the current Secretary, SC and ST Development Department, Mr Parameswaran, eminent academics such as Prof Rita Ray, Dr Nivedita Mohanty, Prof Mitali Chinera, Dr. Adyasha Das, Professors of Anthropology from Utkal University and colleges.
