Professor Chittaranjan Das, also fondly called as “Chitta Bhai”, gave the true meaning of “Education” or “Vidya” as To instill a great character, a desire to serve the country and a thirst for God. Despite having excellent command over more than a dozen languages, including German, Danish Finnish, as well as Sanskrit, Pali, Urdu and Bengali, he wrote mostly in his mother tongue, Odia.
He is perhaps the most prolific writer of Odia non-fiction, with numerous diaries, essays, reviews, autobiographies, memoirs, columns, textbooks, and monographs. Utkal Gaurav derives great inspiration from the life and times of Prof. Das and his ideas about education.
We take our inspiration from Madhusudan Das, also known as Utkal Gaurav. He was a symbol of new hope and aspiration of all Odias. He is the architect of Odia movement and a pioneer in the field of industrial development. We hope to inspire all our kids in Odisha to follow his footsteps and work towards a glorious future for themselves and for Odisha.
Swami Rama Tirtha was a Vedantin of the highest realization. Vedanta according to him is no dogma or blind faith, but the Reality of realities. It is the realization of our true Self, Sat-Chid-Anand, the state of All-Being, All Knowledge, All Bliss. Swami Rama was not only a religious teacher, but was also a fearless social reformer, and an undaunted patriot. At Utkal Gaurav, we aim to follow and disseminate the teachings of Swami Rama Tirtha. His famous song on self-realization is a must-listen for everyone. Lyrics | Video
“Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached” Swami Vivekanad and his pioneering work for youth and education is an inspiration to the entire world and Utkal Gaurav takes immense inspiration from his teachings. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture as well as his deep spiritual insight, fervid eloquence, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy and colourful personality made an irresistible appeal to the western world. He derived his ideas from that unfailing source of wisdom and often presented them in the soul stirring language of poetry. The natural tendency of Vivekananda's mind was to soar above the world and forget itself in contemplation of the Absolute and we hope to instil this in our kids at Utkal Gaurav.
A.P.J Abdul Kalam, a nuclear scientist and the 11th president of India is a source of inspiration for generations to come. His dream to develop India into a “Knowledge Superpower” is a source of inspiration to Utkal Gaurav. The Missile Man as he was fondly known as was most popular among the children and all his interactions with kids focused on 5 key elements for India to realize it’s true potential. These were Agriculture & Food; Education & Health; Information & Communication; Infrastructure ; Faith in god and spirituality. And Utkal Gaurav is also focusing on these for a wholesome growth of the kids.