Indus Valley Times

Dr Brajamohan Mishra

Mother India is proud of her offspring those who not only lived but also dreamt and died for others. One does not come across such gallants of spirit very often for the idealism they are wedded to is quite unfamiliar to ordinary existence. It is a fact that such souls shed tears while others are mad with the world they inhabit.

Revered Kumudini Panda is one of those sacred and sacrificing souls who had taken flight to an empyrean called independence of her motherland. As a matter of fact,those were the days when motherland preoccupied her ilk lock, stock and barrel. She was their home and hearth, their be all and end all.With dreams galore in their heart of hearts, these beings of immorality soared much above the sordid transience of “getting and spending” to fill their motherland with the eternal suavity of social justice and spiritual serenity. Kumudini was one such nightingale who heard the song of the soul, eschewed all that was trivial, fled to the realm of sacrifice, and sincerely fought for her begrimed motherland. In fact, by doing this, she fructified her sojourn on earth.

Daughter of Late Prahallad Pati, a veteran teacher,  Kumudini was born at Jhinkria under the police station of Tihidi in Balasore district (now Bhadrak District) on 5 August 1932. Her uncle NishakarPatiwas a dauntless freedom fighter who had inspired her to dedicate herself to the ongoing freedom movement.BhagabatSahu, her maternaluncle also influenced her a lot. At the age of eleven, Kumudini worked with him. She used to sing songs of freedom, distribute Congress letters and leaflets. Along with her freedom fighter uncle Bhagabat Sahu, she stayed at Mahatab Kothi, Bhadrak and cooked food for freedom fighters there. Her great moment arrived when she met Mahatma Gandhi along with her aunt Amulyamani.Both of them donated gold to the Mahatma which not only electrified but also enthused them to take further dips into the ever surging sea of the freedom struggle. Even though she married Akshya Kumar Panda, an ideal teacher, the nuptial bond failed to constrict and confine her to domesticity because India’s freedom was her sole concern.

As her motherland achieved freedom, her cup of joy rose to its brim. Unlike so many freedom fighters, she did not apply for freedom fighter’s pension, what to speak of getting it. She detested such monetary gain which was tantamount to going back on the promises made to her dearest motherland. She is eighty-seven now and has been bedridden for two years. Yet sparkles of sacrifice engulf her so much that she springs into singing those songs sung during the freedom movement. Her eyes get moist with tears while her heart flaps its wings to the domain of the Divine. She lives with her son, Prashant Kumar Panda, a noted environmentalist at plot N3-131, 1RC Village, Nayapalli, BBSR.

As one simply brings her image to one’s mind, one bows one’s head in reverence and prays to the Almighty for her peace and mirth.