Blogger of Barpali: E Kiran Mohan's posts on The Barpali Days compels readers to help those in need

In December 2016, the Odisha Youth Inspiration Award was bestowed on Mohan by Odisha Diary, who the conducted Odisha Living Legends Award ceremony
Weavers are not the only ones who benefit from his words. He has written about the hardships of people like Sana Sahu, an old woman who has no one to take care of her (Pic: E Kiran Mohan)
Weavers are not the only ones who benefit from his words. He has written about the hardships of people like Sana Sahu, an old woman who has no one to take care of her (Pic: E Kiran Mohan)

Stories keep people going. They could bring fame, fortune or friends. E Kiran Mohan’s stories on his blog The Barpali Days, have brought all three, but rarely, are they directed towards him. They made their way to the ones his stories are about. But Mohan’s not complaining! Take the story of Nadia, a French lady who wanted to visit Barpali, a town famous for its indigenous Sambalpuri saree weaving art and ikat and where Mohan is based out of. She was keen on learning more about ikat, but was skeptical of visiting an alien town. Mohan assured her that he will take care of everything and he truly did. Thanks to him, both Nadia and the weavers benefitted. Many foreigners, over the years, have contacted him, asking for his help and he has obliged every time. This not just helped them with their research, it also helped the weavers with the proliferation of their art. And what can a blog post change, you say. 

One of his first stories, Involuntary Contraction of the Diaphragm, was published in The New Indian Express on October 1, 2009

"Instead of writing about famous people, I prefer to write about people who are deprived and I do this because am passionate about it," says the 46-year-old. He takes almost a month to write one blog post and where does he find the stories from, we ask? "I don't go anywhere, I simply observe people," says the BCom graduate from Sambalpur University. 

All smiles: Mohan receiving an award from Padma Shri Tulsi Munda | (Pic: E Kiran Mohan)

Weavers are not the only ones who benefit from Mohan's words though. He has also written about the hardships of people like Sana Sahu, an old woman who has no husband or children to take care of her. Reading her story, a lady in the US read sent $200 dollars for Sahu. "The government gives Sana Sahu `300 monthly and every Saturday, she visits me to take `200 from the money the lady from the US sent for her," Mohan tells us. Similarly, when he wrote about Tulsi Meher, who is handicapped, a gentleman from Delhi sent money for her. And to think he wasn't even keen on blogging initially. "I used to just write these stories and email them to my friends. They encouraged me to start a blog," says Mohan, and boy, we are so glad they did! 

The awards that went to him:

- In December 2016, the Odisha Youth Inspiration Award was bestowed on Mohan by Odisha Diary, who the conducted Odisha Living Legends Award ceremony

- He was also felicitated at the Nuakhai Festival held in 2016

- During the 39th Shodh yatra conducted by Society for Research and Initiative for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions, Mohan was felicitated 

While speaking to Mohan, we were reaffirmed of the power words hold. Clearly, we are not the only ones who feel this way because he has been felicitated by many organisations for his efforts. One of the most prestigious awards he received was from the Bhubaneswar-based society, Yes We Can. He was one of the 50 people honoured for building a stronger Odisha in the presence of Padma Shri Tulsi Munda. And we hope that he keeps harnessing the power of words to empower others.   

Helping hand: Mohan doing what he does best, helping out | (Pic: E Kiran Mohan)

Read up
Mohan recommends that we read the following post on his blog - 

Kecho Soup - About rehabilitating a turtle

Bhow Bhow - The pranks his two dogs play 

Harvest the crop only when it matures - Based on this story, LIC came up with an advertisement  

For his posts, click on barpalidays.blogspot.com

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
EdexLive
www.edexlive.com