By Umakanta Panda
Bhubaneswar
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His fathomless penchant and passion for collecting antiquity of the days of yore which are in a state of oblivion is incredible. Needless to say, Gopalkrishna, ’65’, a former Reader of Prananath (P.N.) College, Khordha has dedicated his life and times for the sake of preserving antiques related to Khordha Paika rebellion, and the glorious tradition of Odisha as well. In the process of preserving antiques, he has gradually converted his home ‘Sephalika’ at Khordha Radhaballav Lane into an aesthetic museum.
Gopal Krishna has preserved weapons, sword, arrow, knife, spear, shield, halberd, hatchets and axes belonging to the 18th century. He has collected as many as 40 ancient arms and ammunition that were used by the Paika warriors during the Paika rebellion in March 1817. Most of the vintage objects were collected by his forefathers from several villages under Khordha district, where a valiant uprising of the soldiers was led by Buxi Jagabandhu against the British East-India Company. Some of the swords have been collected from Chhanagiri and Jankia area of Khordha. He draws attention to ‘Katari’, made of ivory, which is the oldest and most prized piece in his collection. “I bought many of these antiques from the family members of Paikas, who continue to reside in Khordha villages”, says the former Reader in Odia, at P.N. College, Khordha.
The Museum has a 5000 year back Arrowhead & Axe made up of stone, Ankush used by Mahunta of elephants, Nepali knives, Guns and Tribal Bows & Arrows among others. Throwing light on the collection, Das said, “In early times, Paikas used to carry as many as 16 types of weapons while going to war”. The museum also has Nayagarh King’s Vest Armor; Spheres from Nepal, Tibet, and Manipur; Swords from Amritsar, Bhutan’s Thimphu, and Rampuri knives from UP.
His museum also stores antiques and lavish objects of 30 counties. He also has preserved punch mark coins 1st century AD, Rare coins of Satavahanas, Naga coins of 2nd century, especially those dating back to Chola Dynasty of 10th century AD. There are various types of stone, brass, copper and wooden structures of 18th Century A.D. But his collection of silver, copper, brass, bell metal, horn, and filigree works are especially eye-catching. The most unique item of his museum is a 2,50,00000(two & half crores) year old petrified tree hailed from Chandigarh which has been transformed into stone. Gopal Krishna says that his museum preserves vintage relics belonging to six generations.
“My interest in collecting artifacts started from early childhood. My father Radhagobinda Das and grandfather Chakradhar Das, who used to collect artifacts from different parts of the state and the country. Taking inspiration from them, I started collecting artifacts on Paika rebellion and ancient Odisha “, he says while showing his proud collection. Gopalkrishna has been documenting the Paika rebellion for several years. Those were displayed at Odisha State Museum at Bhubaneswar during inauguration of a special gallery on Paika rebellion. The Paika rebellion has always been a subject of special interest for him. He has been advocating about it in every edition of Indian History Congress that is organized in the state and outside since 2003.
He asserts that Paika Akhadas should be revived which still exist in most of the villages in Khordha district. These Akhadas are also part of the 200-year Paika Rebellion history. “Government should revive them and train youths, who can later be provided appointments in the Police and Army like it used to happen in earlier times”, he suggests. He remarks, “Khordha is the home to numerous brave-hearts who had defended the motherland from the foreign invaders. From my childhood, I was interested to learn about the Paikas especially from drama & folklore, and performing arts on Paika Rebellion, which later inspired me to do something for preserving their rich history”.
As a Rover leader, Das had been imparting training to the Rovers & Rangers unit of P.N. College, Khordha for one & half decades in 16 types of martial art techniques that were used by Paikas. They perform those teachings at National & International Camps of Rovers & Rangers. Remarkably, the Rovers & Rangers team has not only presented the skills in front of the Prime Minister and President of India at Republic Day & Independence Day parades, and at Governor’ s House, but also have taken part TV reality shows on National Television.
To date, so many illustrious personalities of Odisha have graced the museum. Notable among them were Padmashri Debi Prasanna Pattanaik; Padmashri Prafulla Kar; Pranab Pattnaik and former MP and Odia Movie Moghul Prasanta Nanda along with former Vice Chancellor of Utkal University of Culture Prof. Sabita Pradhan., etc. He laments “the new generation youths are gradually forgetting our glorious culture & tradition. That’s why, I am preserving such nearly extinct items breathlessly”. A few years after such vintage objects will disappear from this material world. Through such preserved items in this museum, the Gen-next would evoke our history, culture, tradition and heritage, remarks a poignant Gopalkrishna.