Jatni: Undeterred by remaining under the shadow of big brother Bhubaneswar despite playing a crucial role in making modern India, Jatni continues to retain its small-town charm amid snail pace development over the years.
Sitting beside Khurda Road railway junction, Jatni started its journey as an urban centre with a temporary camp of British engineers and officers for the construction of a railway network in the late 19th century. The Khurda Road–Puri section of the East Coast State Railway started operation in 1897.
Over the years, some Britishers camping at Jatni got settled here along with their families. Many of them even got married to Indian brides and made this sleepy town their home. No wonder, it had the highest population of Anglo-Indians in Odisha not long back.
The Anglo-Indians brought in their culture as part of their assimilation with the local people. Till the late 20th century, the clubs in Jatnai were famous for their Christmas and parties and limited people having contacts with the Anglo-Indian community used to enjoy their hospitality.
Khurda Road has come a long way in playing its crucial role as a junction to connect Kolkata and Chennai on the country’s railway network till date. But Jatni lagged behind in keeping pace with the railway growth.
While the progress of modernisation of Jatni has been slow and its Anglo-Indian population has dwindled to a few, the locals do not complain. They are happy in their homeland away from the dazzles of modern cities like Bhubaneswar or Bengaluru.
Its MLA Suresh Routray speaks for the people when he says Jatni is a beautiful town with its own old age charm. He takes pride in the fact that people of different communities like Hindu, Muslim and Christian have come here and lived together like brothers.
With a population of just over 63,000, Jatni has a literacy rate of 78%. It has also developed as an education hub with top institutions like IIT, NISER, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Konark Institute of Science and Technology and Orissa Engineering College coming around it.
“It is a beautiful and developed town with educational institutions, 24/7 hospital services, a court and day and water supply,” the MLA said.
On the flyover, which is under construction at Sitaram Chhak for the last 4 years, he said it will be completed by April 2022. “New roads will be laid connecting with nearby villages from Khurda bypass to Rathipur,” he informed.
Though the town has a bad reputation for some of its criminal elements, this alone doesn’t define this town as a local claim. “This is the type of place where you know your neighbours, people care about each other and are loyal if you are nice to them,” says the local, Nikhil Kumar.
“Jatni has come far but has a long way to go. Wherever I go, I miss this small town, which is my home,” says a young man who left Jatni for further studies.
Though many residents of Jatni wish for faster development, they don’t want it to turn into another big smart city.
Jatni currently has at least 10 restaurants to choose from and 3 public parks, which were not in sight up till 4 years back. These changes may sound small but enough to keep the people of the small town happy.
“There was a time when Jatni didn’t even have a nice restaurant or a park where we could go with our friends and family to have a good time. But things have changed though late,” says Deepthi Robert, who was born and raised in this town.
For those who want life in fast lane, Jatni is definitely not the place, but one cannot miss its essence that can be explored in its small neighbourhoods, narrow streets and congested markets.
