Odiya....Thats what I am

I am sure many of you must be wondering what is "Odiya".Well the people of Odisha(formerly known as Orissa), a state of India.Today I came across an article written by Nandita Das which stated her experience how she being an Odiya is misidentified.I am sure like her many of us odiyas must have faced the same problem.I am sure you must have often heard people asking you 'Oh Odisha, is it in West Bengal???' I have faced such questions lot many times.Even I have ones blasted a guy who was doing his MA in geography and didn't know the nineth largest state of India!!!
Why is it so that inspite of having a number of physiographical characteristics like Mountain ranges which covers a large part of Eastern Ghats, Rivers like Mahanadi,Brahmani,Subarnarekha and many more, the vast Utkal Plains,vast Forests, we have to explain people about our existence.
Why even after being the proud home of beautiful CHILIKA LAKE ( the largest wintering ground for migratory birds), HIRAKUD DAM (one of the world longest earthen dam), Archaeological places like Jagannath Temple of Puri, the Konark Sun Temple, the Lingaraj Temple, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Dhauligiri of Bhubaneshwar,Ashoka's famous Rock Edict at Jaugada near Berhampur city and the Barabati Fort of Cuttack we are misidentified.
Odisha is a state of varied flora and fauna which is just impossible to pen down coz its going to take a full day.

Bada ghagra waterfalls Keonjhar

Chilika Lake

Hirakud Dam

Deomali(the highest mountain peak of Odisha i.e. 1672m)

Simlipal National Park

Khandagiri Udaygiri Caves

Puri Sri Jaganath Temple

Konark Temple

Shanti stupa at Dhauligiri 

Puri Rath Yatra

Pipli Chandua

Cuttack Tarakashi

Sand Sculpture by Sudarshan Pattnaik

Dalkhai :Beautiful Sambalpuri Folk Dance

World Famous Odissi Dance

 Pitha: Yummy Odiya Cuisine

Infosys Bhubaneswar

Wipro Bhubaneswar

Fortune Tower Bhubaneswar

Malls in Bhubaneswar

Well that was a tiny sneak peak of my home Odisha. Having a vast variety of food, dance, architecture, music, literature, crafts, weaves and nature, an emerging IT hub, home of plants like NALCO, VAL, and many more, a home of numerous educational institutions, people still donot know Odisha.I am not complaining about anything just an attempt to tell people to look at Odisha and recognize it for what it really is.

And a sincere request to all my odiya brothers and sisters residing in all parts of the world 'Remember where you came from and be proud of being an Odiya'

Thanks for reading :)