The Hindu : National : Kashmir folk tales told in Oriya

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Saturday, Apr 01, 2006

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National

Kashmir folk tales told in Oriya

Shujaat Bukhari

An attempt to spread cultural ethos of Kashmir society

SRINAGAR: Phullara Nayak, a noted writer in Oriya, has made a bid to bridge the literary gap between Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa.

A retired teacher of Utkal University, Ms. Nayak (67) seized the opportunity of her son being a J&K cadre IAS officer.

She used her brief sojourns in Srinagar to collect and translate Kashmiri folk tales and literature in Oriya language.

Her first volume of Kashmir Lok Katha was released in Delhi recently.

Asked how she got an idea to bring Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa together, Ms. Nayak said Kashmiri people had greatly enamoured her, whenever she chose to stay with her son. "I thought if common people in Kashmir are so charming, , their literature must be fascinating," she said. That led the journey of literary exploration.

According to the writer, she has based her collection of folk tales from Kashmir on the interaction with the common people during her several visits to the Valley.

Her book in Oriya Kashmir Lok Katha, the first of its kind, has been published by Vidya Prakashan, Cuttack, Orissa.

18 stories

The book contains 18 stories. Some of the titles are "Sata Godia Jantu" (The Seven Legged Animal), "Kuhuka Mudi" (The Magical Ring), "Asal Bandhuta" (True Friendship), "Atithi Seva" (Service to the Guest) etc. The 94-page hardbound book is a unique attempt by the author to spread the secular cultural ethos of Kashmir society among Oriya readers.

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