Sambalpuri and Maniabandh ikat clothes!!!
Reading Upendra Bhanja, Abhimanyu Samantasinhara, Gangadhar Meher in a candlelit room
Relishing Odia patois used by Fakir Mohan Senapati
Daydreaming about being on a boat in Chilika and writing poetry about its beauty
Having walls ornamented with terracotta art, appliques and pattachitra
Spending evening by Bindusagar
Can't help but fall in love with the sculptures carved on the walls of Konark Sun temple
Drooling over the ancient Odia architecture
Rocking the occasions in mother's Khandua and Behrampuri pāta and Bomkai sarees
Chā for day-to-day aesthetic
Romanticising an evening at Konark, Mukteswar Dance Festival, Rajarani Music Festival or Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav
Waiting for festivals like Raja and Prathamashtami to eat Podapitha and Enduri pitha all day
Ending tantrums with "Seh" when mad
Having been through the 'Odisha is the state, Odia is the language and Odissi is the dance form' phase
Jamming to Rangabati, songs of Akshaya Mohanty and crying at night to Hrudaya Ra Ei Sunyata Ku
Late night yearning by playing Jochhana Luchana and Mayabini Bana Jochhana from parents' cassette collections
Ditching everything for afternoon nap
"Misu mora deha ae desa matire, desabasi chaali jaantu pithi re"
Emphasising the work of female writers like Kuntala Kumari Sabat, Ramadevi, Pratibha Ray
Inherent longing for Ratha Jatra and Suna Besa
Visiting Khandagiri and Udayagiri and touching the caves, hoping they'd wake up to whisper about 2nd century BCE Odisha
Playing the Kalinga War in head while looking at the river Daya from Dhauli hill
[ That's it, folks! There's more but I'won't make this a tiresome list :) I just wanted to romanticise my culture, it's vast as hell and I'll never shut up about it. ]
