BHUBANESWAR: Rare newspapers and periodicals that provide an insight into the socio-cultural fabric of the state in the olden times, would soon be available online.
Ravenshaw University has recently started work on digitising the newspapers, periodicals and magazines that are present in the archives of Utkal Sahitya Samaj, the oldest and the premier literary and cultural organisation of the state, in Cuttack.
The work is being implemented by the university’s Centre for Odishan Studies. It has secured grants from the British Library under the Endangered Archives programme to execute the digitisation project.
Urmishree Bedamatta, associate professor in English and heads of the centre, said the project aims at the preservation of magazines and newspapers in the Utkal Sahitya Samaj archive which are at the risk of loss and deterioration. The grants were provided by the British Library in August this year and work has recently started, she said.
The publications selected for digitisation cover a range of spheres including literature, social issues, health and education, providing valuable insights into Odisha’s rich cultural and intellectual history. A few magazines reflect influential editorial perspectives, while some offer a fearless historical critique, collectively enhancing the understanding of the region’s socio-cultural fabric.
The centre, which was opened in 2019 for working on Sarala Mahabharata, is also digitising rare literary works and manuscripts donated to Ravenshaw University by individuals along with those collected from the State Museum. It has already digitised six Odia language volumes from the early 12th century that are kept at the Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan library on the premises of Sriramachandra Bhawan. The volumes include ‘Baikuntha Bhikari’, ‘Puribasi’, ‘Ratnakar’, ‘Utkal Barta’, ‘Swadesha Lakshmi’ and possess a rare archival value. This project was funded by Chicago-based Centre for Research Libraries.