In my days in Taiwan, I have met people who have visited more places in India than me and even watched more Indian movies that I have watched in my entire life. But majorly restrict themselves to the famous Golden Triangle, which includes Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra (the Taj Mahal city). All the people with whom I discuss India have the same pattern in our first conversation – First is "I have been to Taj Mahal / I really want to visit Taj Mahal"; second is "I have seen the movie 3 Idiots"; and third "India has so many engineers." While they share their experiences in India with me, it brings a big smile to my face. It also pops a question to my mind- Is India all about the Taj Mahal, Bollywood movies, and the IT industry?
Having such an experience, my Taiwanese friends are not alone. When I first visited Taiwan, all I wanted to do was see the Shilin night market, hike the Elephant mountain to see the beautiful night view of Taipei city and 101 building, and most importantly, try the stinky tofu (which I have grown fond of). But after meeting people from other parts of Taiwan, I slowly realized that Taipei itself cannot justify Taiwan. I made sure I visit every nook and corner of Taiwan with my time here and am pretty glad I did. Upon finishing my studies, my aim is to visit the offshore islands and learn more about them.
In this piece, I will try to give the readers a vivid and separate view of India beyond the three things they have mostly experienced or share. To explain such a tricky thing for a geographically vast country, I will limit myself to India's eastern state- Odisha. I will try to explain some of the culture, language, and most importantly, food. Being in the east part of India, Odisha has been relatively untouched by foreign tourists. One of the biggest reasons is the lack of international flights from the state. But recently, Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, has been increasingly connected to many major cities of India and slowly opens up to international flights.
Introduction to Odisha Culture
The term Odisha is derived from the ancient Prakrit word "Odda Visaya" (also "Udra Bibhasha" or "Odra Bibhasha.") If you have ever attended any Indian classical dance, one of the most liked by Taiwanese is the "Odissi" dance. It is one of the classical dances of India, finding its root in Odisha. Odissi needs a lot of dedication and hard work to learn. Some of the keys of this dance are facial expressions, gestures, and sign languages. The dance mostly expresses religious stories and spiritual ideas dedicated to Lord Jagannath (widely worshiped in Odisha).
A few Taiwanese have shown interest in learning Odissi and have been to Odisha to learn the dance. When I see them performing Odissi, I appreciate it more and more. Odissi can be found in most of the significant architectural marvels of Odisha. Odissi dance has also been featured in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single, "Black or White." In the image below, you can see Miss Hanna Weng, a Taiwanese performing Odissi. She has been practicing Odissi for 7 years.
Odisha is also known as the state for having 13 significant festivals in 12 months. Like in Taiwan, each aboriginal group has its own harvest festivals; Odisha also has a festival dedicated to crop harvest. It is called "Nuakhai." It is a combination of two words, 'Nua' means 'New' and 'Khai' means 'Eat,' the festival signifies "eating of new rice." It is widely celebrated across the Western region of Odisha.
Another widely popular festival is "Rath Yatra." It is also known as the "Chariot Festival" in English. It is conducted in the Puri city of Odisha, which is about 90 minutes from Bhubaneswar. It involves a public procession of chariots with deities, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister), and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on wooden chariots. It is celebrated in July, in the monsoon season. In Taiwan, especially in Taipei, Taiwanese, Indians, and other foreigners celebrate the Rath Yatra, usually in October or November.
When people visit Puri, they usually stop by in two different places. One is the UNESCO world heritage site Konark Sun Temple, widely recognized as Black Pagoda due to its distinctive features. The temple was designed to look like a chariot. The giant stone carved statues and wheels are unique to the architectural design of Odisha. The Konark Temple is also depicted on the Indian currency note of INR 10, showing its importance to the Indian culture. The second place is called Pipili. Pipili is a small town where most of the residents are engaged in making beautiful Applique handicrafts. Some of the samples of the Pipli designed handicrafts can be seen across Indian restaurants in Taiwan.
Additionally, a unique painting pattern is done on a cloth-based scroll from Odisha called "Pattachitra." It means "Cloth Picture" It is created initially for ritual use for Lord Jagannath. All the colors used in the painting are natural. The images usually describe the folktales.
Language
In Odisha, Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ) is widely spoken. According to the last survey conducted by the Government of India, there are approximately 35 million speakers of the Odia language. Odia is also designated as one of the classical languages of India. The Odia language literature has developed since its origin and has seen several great works throughout time. Some of the noted literature work is done by Fakir Mohan Senapati, whose work has seen wide acceptance across India. The importance of literature is reflected in some of the cities named after the writers and poets. Bhanjanagar, a town in the Ganjam district, got its name from a famous poet Upendra Bhanja, who again was awarded the title of "Poet King."
Spending some time in Taiwan, I realized that I could only speak Odia to around four or five friends in Taiwan from Odisha. Such lack of expressing my own language led me to try reading short stories or listen to the news in the Odia language and appreciate my language.
Food
Food plays a big part in the Odia culture. I want to share some of the unique dishes from Odisha, which usually are not known to foreigners. For outsiders, it may be a little weird. One such thing dish is called "Pakhala Bhata." It is popular in other eastern and south states as well. "Pakhala Bhata" consists of cooked rice washed or a little fermented in water. It is mostly eaten in summer for lunch to beat the hot summer heat. To the rice bowl, curd, cucumber, cumin seeds, fried onions, and mint leaves are added. It is served with other side dishes. This dish's popularity has even called for an Universala Pakhala Day, celebrated by all Odias worldwide on 20th March. I still remember eating this; I always felt sleepy.
Another dish, which is the trademark of Odisha is, "Dalma." Dalma is a dish made of lentils and vegetables such as raw papaya, eggplants, pumpkin, etc., and of course the Indian spices. The lentil used for Dalma is usually the Split chickpeas. It is a vegetarian dish and a very healthy alternative to those who want something saucy to mix it with rice and eat it. The good part of this dish is that it even requires significantly less oil to cook.
Any meal is incomplete without a dessert. My most favorite and one of the dishes I miss the most is the "Chenapoda." It means "Roasted Cheese." It is also famously known as "Taste of Odisha." This dessert origin came by accident when Mr. Sudarshana Sahoo decided to add sugar and seasonings to leftover cottage cheese overnight and leave it in the oven. The next day, he discovered the accidental dessert he had made. You can find them in every sweet shop in Odisha, with each having their own version of making it, either using sugar or jaggery. It is one of the few desserts of India whose flavor comes from the caramelization of sugar. There is always a fight between my sister and me to eat the caramelized part of the desert.
Scenic, Serene, Sublime- Tags for Odisha's Tourism
Odisha is not limited to the things mentioned earlier. There are many places within Odisha I have not been to still. But, I do cherish the places I have been fortunate enough to be there. For example, Chilika Lake, which is Asia's biggest saltwater lake and famous for its beauty, dolphins watch, and the thousands of migratory birds arriving each year in winter. Next time, whenever I go home, I will take some good pictures of it and share them with you.
Odisha, itself has its own movie industry, known as Ollywood. The "O" reflects the province of Odisha and the language used "Odia" in the movie. I hope you all can visit Odisha and other places of India once things get back to normal after the COVID-19 situation comes under control.
*For the Chinese version, please find: 印度不只有泰姬瑪哈、寶萊塢和 IT 產業！歡迎光臨我的家鄉──奧里薩
執行編輯：蔡文晴
核稿編輯：林欣蘋
