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AN ORIOZ COMPILATION Ekutia Ekutia CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST DURING COVID ISOLATION - 2020

Editorial ଚଳନି ୨୦୨୦ ର ଉପକମ ର ହ ପଥୃ ବୀ ସ ଟ ର ବଳୟ ମ େର ଗତି କରଛି l କେରାନା ଭତାଣୁ ଦାରା ସଂକମିତ ବ ାଧ ର ପେକାପ ର େକୗଣସି ପାନ ଆଉ ବାଦ ପାଇନାହାନି l ଧନ, ବି ାନ ତଥା ସାମରିକ ମତା ବଳ େର ନଜି କୁ ଦୁ ନଆି ର ସବ ଶକିମାନ ମେନ କରଥବା ଯକୁ ରା ଆେମରିକା, ଆଜି ସବୁ ଠାର େବଶୀ ଆକାନ l ମକୁ ବହି ପରି ଉଡି ପାରଥବା ମାନବ ଆଜି ଏହି ଭତାଣୁ ଭୟ େର ନଜି କୁ ର େକାଠରି େର ବ କରି ରଖଛି l ସାମାଜିକ ଢା ା େର ମିଳାମିଶା ର ଆଉ ଅବସର ନାହ. କାହାକୁ େଦାଷ େଦବାର ସେୁ ଯାଗ ବି ନାହ l ମଣଷି ନେି ଜ ହ ଏହି ବ ାଧ ର ବାହକ l େସଥପାଇଁ ଜେଣ େହଇ ଯାଇଛି ଅନ ଜଣ ପାଇଁ ଅଛୁଆଁ, ଅ ଶ l ଏହି ଅଦୃ ଶ ଭତାଣୁ ର ଏପଯ ନ େକୗଣସି ପତକି ାର ନାହ, କି ପତେି ଷଧକ ମ ନାହ l ଏପରି ଘଡସି ି ମୁ େର ଆମକୁ ଆବଶ କ ସତକତା ଓ ସେଚତନତା l େଦଶ ର ା ପାଇଁ ବାହ ଶତ ସହ ଲେଢଇ କରଥବା େସନା ବାହନି ୀ ପରି ଏଇ ଆନରିକ ବପି ଦ ର ର ା କରିବାକୁ ଲଗାତାର ନଭି ୟ ତଥା ନସି ାଥପର ଭାେବ ଯୁ କରଛନି ଆମ ଡାକର ଓ ସାସ କମୀ ବ ୁ ଗଣ l େସମାନ ୁ େକାଟି େକାଟି ପଣାମ l ଆଶାକେର େସମାନ ଅକାନ ପରିଶମ ର ଆଗାମୀ ଦନି େର ଏଇ େରାଗ ର ସାୟୀ ଉପଶମ ବାହାରି ପାର l େତେବ ପରସର ଠାର କିଛି ଦନି ଦୂ ରେର ରହି ଏହି ବ ାଧ ର ସଂକମଣ କୁ ଆେମ େରାକି ପାରିବା l \"ସମୟ ନାହ\" କହି ବ ସ ବ ଳ ଜୀବନ େର ଅେନକ କଥା କୁ ଆେମ ଏଡାଇ େଦଇଥେଲ l ଏଇ ଅଳ କିଛି ଦନି ସେତକି ଉପହାର ସରପ ମିଳିଛ,ି ନଜି ପରିବାର ସହ ଅଧକ ସମୟ ବେି ତଇବା ପାଇଁ; ହଜି ଯାଇଥବା ଦୂ ର ବ ୁ ତଥା ସ କୀୟ ୁ ମେନ ପେକଇବା ପାଇଁ l ଆମ ଭତେର ରହଥି ବା ସପୁ ପତଭି ା ଅବା ରଚି କୁ ଆଗକୁ ଆଣବି ାେର ଆଉଥେର ସେୁ ଯାଗ ନ ମିଳିପାେର l ଆସ , ଦୂ ରେର ରହି ମ ଏକାଠି େହାଇ ପାରିବାର ମା ମ ଅେନଷଣ କରିବା, ଶାରୀରିକ ଓ ମାନସକି ସର େର ସସୁ ରହି ଏହି ବ ାଧ ର ସାମନା କରିବା l \"ଏକୁ ଟଆି ଏକୁ ଟଆି \" ଅେ ଲଆେର ର ଥବା ପବାସୀ ଓଡ଼ଆି ଏଇ ଦଗି େର ଏକ ଲଘୁ ପୟାସ l ସେବ ଭବ ସଖୁ ନଃ, ସତ ନାରାୟଣ ଦାଶ ସେବ ସ ନରି ାମୟଃ l ସେବ ଭଦାଣି ପଶ , ମା କସଦି ଦୁ ଃଖ ଭାଗ ଭେଵତ ll

FOREWORD introduction It was a cool, sunny April morning, just over a couple of months since the Corona virus had established itself in the land down under, on which the idea of a writing competition hatched in the senior circle of Orioz. Named “Isolekha,” the competition was born as a simple plan to engage members of the Australian Odia community in something that would summarize individual perception of the countrywide shutdown and of life faced with social deprivation and uncertainties at large. But what began as a competition, ended up being a discovery of talents that were hitherto unknown in the Orioz fraternity. Abstract thoughts culminated into serious narratives, everyday dilemmas of restricted living fructified into funny write-ups, and poetry reflected pique and perks of the homebound lifestyle. While the young minds churned up innocent imagery of existence sans playtime, school and outings, the adult submissions revolved more around nostalgia and soul searching. Isolekha gave a platform to expression of bottled up emotions. Yet the write- ups brought much delight to the judges following which it was decided to give the submissions a face in the form of this book. Thus, this compilation, designed as a teatime reading, is an effort to bring together the outpour of the diverse experiences that were submitted as instructive essays, narratives of quirky thoughts and queasy feelings, social media post styled articles, anecdotal stories and poems that panned out insightful thinking and critical humour. Hope it brings great joy to the readers and a feeling of connection with the diverse attributes of solitude at a deeper level. Svetlana Bhuyan

I-So-Lazy This Isolation 5am, the alarm blares. I tell myself I’m AAKANKSHA SAHU finally going to get the motivation to get QLD up, watch the sunrise and meditate. 6am, the alarm blares again. I tell myself maybe it’s okay if I just go for a run today, in isolation. 7am, the alarm blares a third time. I tell myself, maybe just today, I can sleep in. When I finally wake up, it’s 11am. I tell myself that tomorrow, I’ll definitely wake up at 5am. The cycle repeats every morning. But I never do what I told myself to do. Isolation has made me lose my purpose, my focus, my motivation. After all, what is the point of it all? A shower seems meaningless now. Waking up seems redundant. Even napping has become more of a necessity than a gift. We don’t have any human contact or any tasks that force us to stay on track. In fact, we don’t HAVE to do anything at all anymore. So why do we? It’s almost robotic, this routine. I do it because if I don’t, I lose my civility. The very essence of what makes me human suddenly seems void, empty. Isolation is a never-ending battle against myself and I don’t know how to end it. How do I escape this purgatory? How do I escape this prison of never-ending excuses and crippling uncertainty that, combined, steals the livelihood of my soul?

The truth is we have too high expectations for ourselves. We see all around us, these perfect regimes that people claim to uphold. Painting, cooking, reading. Picking up a new skill, mastering a new language, changing entire diets. But that isn’t reality. In reality, someone who has never run in their life before won’t just suddenly wake up at 5am and start running. Why is it that I can only run if it’s at exactly 5am? When we’re surrounded by media that romanticises such idealistic lifestyles, all we can really do is be forced to enforce upon ourselves our interpretations of these depictions in social media echo chambers. Sometimes just getting up, getting out of bed, and showering should be enough. Sometimes just opening a book and reading the first page should be enough. Sometimes going for a run, even if it isn’t at 5am like I had planned, but at 5pm instead, should be enough. Because once we start, only then can we progressively improve. We are presented with a beautiful quarantine life full of banana bread and perfect families and wonderful transformations, but life during a pandemic is more stressful and difficult than just doing these things. We are faced with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty and fear all around us. To battle this, we need to understand that perfection isn’t necessarily idealistic. Instead, what we need to do is be gentler and kinder, with ourselves and the people around us. Because isolation is a slow marathon, not a steadfast sprint. Sometimes just starting is enough –slowly, steadily. --------------------------- XXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------

CORONA VIRUS Stuck-at-Home, nothing to do and nowhere to go. As I look through the window, the world looks hollow. This is life in 2020 and that’s all I know. Look at what is happening with the corona virus in the show. People are feeling sorrow as corona virus cases MARGIE BISWAL grow and life becomes narrow. ALBURY NSW PARENTS: BIDYAPATI BISWAL  & DEBIRANI DAS All we want to know is if the corona virus cases are going low, wishing things will be alright and everything will be okay tomorrow. . As the COVID-19 emerges from the shadow, the world goes to isolation and locks its door. If you go somewhere outside, the police would say NO and will tell you go back and Stay at Home.

When I go to the shops I would wonder, where did the Toilet Papers go? The shopkeeper would say, “I put them there a second ago”. When I ask where did the hand sanitizers go, she would say,” Oh No, they are all gone a Month ago”. Not many people are going to school anymore, the population at school are going low. Thanks to Google and Zoom, we are learning on online flow. As I lie with my head on the pillow, my thoughts swirl around when will it disappear into the shadow. The suffering and sorrow will all go down below and life will again be on a steady flow. I can’t express my feeling beyond this anymore. Hope a new rainbow will shine tomorrow. ---------------------------XXXXXX-----------------------

ISOLATION..A BAN OR BOON…. Isolation…..a ban or a boon? Isolation can SRILAXMI CHOUDHURY either mean to stay away from certain things NSW or places or shall we take it as an opportunity to connect you to your inner self without the usual distractions around you. As they say, every coin has 2 sides and it is upto you to decide on which side of the coin you want to choose to be with. Isn’t it the same with events in our life? I prefer to be with the brighter side. At times we need to invest some time for ourselves, to understand our inner soul and get a break from our busy lives. In today’s world people feel guilty at times as they are not able to give enough time to their families, not able to connect with their kids or to have a quick chat with long lost school friend and rekindle the memory of one’s childhood. Isolation is the best time we are getting to fulfil that incomplete task. In our life time, we come across various events. We take them as Positive, Negative and Neutral events. Converting the things from negative to positive is the challenge of life. And God has given this 2nd opportunity to revisit them, like they say, behind every negative aspect there is a positive aspect. You are not isolated from everything. You are not isolated from Sunrise… Enjoy the sunrise!!! You are not isolated from Love …Share the love with near and dear ones!!! You are not isolated from Family time… Enjoy the family time!!! You are not isolated from Kindness…Show your kindness, even if it makes someone smile for a moment!!! You are not isolated from Creativity…Try to improve your Creativity!!! You are not isolated from Learning…Try to learn a new thing in life!!! You are not isolated from Conversation…Start conversating with that old friend!!

You are not isolated from Imagining… Bring your own imagination to build your skills!! You are not isolated from Reading … Read that old story book or that favorite novel!!! You are not isolated from Relationship…Build to improve on that sour relationship!!! You are not isolated from Praying… Prayer helps us to grow spiritually!!! You are not isolated from Meditation …Meditation helps to be more focused !! You are not isolated from Hope… Hope shows us the path to succeed!!! This is an opportunity to do what you always wanted to do but did not find time. Now is the time to show off your inner qualities and hidden talents. Enjoy the isolation. May be, this time will be the best time to do some good cause and life is giving time to fix our past. Since it would be rare to get this lost time back again later in life. Remember, opportunities hardly knock your door twice. At the same time, let us not forget to pray for those who are struggling for their survival during this time or those up in arms to protect them. I cannot close this topic without remembering this poem titled “Leisure” by William Henry Davies I read in my college. \" What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?– No time to stand beneath the boughs, And stare as long as sheep and cows: No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass: No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night: No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance: No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began? A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.\". -------------- XXXXXXXXXXXX ----------------------

आओ कु छ बात कर ब त दन के बाद मले ह आओ कु छ बात कर । VIKAS GOYAL, QLD थोड़े शकवे और गले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। सूनी सड़क बदं कवाड़ शहर बड़ा सुनसान था । आज मटे सब फ़ासले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। खुली वा दय म तमु मले हो नीले अ बर के तले । नह बीच म महल क़ले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। हमारे जन ज़ म पर व त ने मरहम रखी थी । ज़ म आज वो फ़र छले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। बना ल ज़ क डोर लए औ बना यार के बोल सुने । दल के टुकड़े कह सले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। तमु से बछड़ कर मौसम म वीरानी सी बरपां थी । पेड़ के प े आज हले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। ज़दगी ने फ़र इस मोड़ पर मलवाया है तुमसे । यही ज़दगी के सल सले ह आओ कु छ बात कर ।। तुम मझु े देख मु कु राए तो कु छ यँू लगा ‘ वकास’ गलु शन गुलशन फू ल खले ह आओ कु छ बात कर । ---------------- XXXXXXX --------------------