ONI Bureau: While politicians show all kind of rivalry in the battlefield (including Assembly/Parliament), but join hands behind the doors to make fun of their followers who fight it bitterly on social media platforms as well as on the ground, the Twitterati in Odisha have decided to come out of the virtual world and congregate for a common cause. Well, picnic (Bana Bhoji) was just an excuse. The real intention was to meet the strangers, know each other and develop bonding. And, it worked.
It all started when Mr. Snehasis Rout, one of the most active Twitterati called for a Picnic with the hashtag #KhatiJamiba – one of the most localised word in Coastal Odisha to describe a get together full of fun and gossip. Other Twitterati such as Ashish Sarangi and Saswat were quick to join in. They formed a group and gave an open call on Twitter.
Priyabrat, Mayuresh, Dr. Deepak Kar, Manas, Sandeep Sahu, Priyabrata, Sagar, Asuthosh, Surajit etc. responded to the call and gave their consent to be part of the adventure. Some others too wanted to join, but had to withdraw due to sudden change in their schedule.
Aragarh near Jatani was chosen as the venue for picnic by researcher Ashish Sarangi. The Buddhist heritage site offered peace and qualm to the visitors who took a Tata Winger to reach the spot. Most of them were never known to each other. Some of them met for the first time. But, the euphoria was superb. They were enthused and excited to see each other, identify by names, chat and interact not just about themselves, but about the events happening in Odisha as well as Twitter.
Interestingly, people in the group had nothing in common except being Twitterati. When it comes to political/ideological affiliation, none of them were aligned to any party or individuals, but they had their own choice. It was a combination of Right, Left and Centrists, but there was no political argument or heated exchange of words as we see in the virtual world – social media platforms. Yes, most of their discussions were non-political; but whenever they discussed politics, others did listen and did not confront – a rare phenomenon in today’s scenario when people bay for each other’s blood even over trivial issues.
It was an eventful day. It started well, ended well barring a few hassles and troubles the Twitterati encountered at the new venue. But, the joy and pain brought them closer and gave a further boost to their bonding. They vowed to stand by each other through thick and thin. The #KhatiJamiba is probably one of the very few such initiatives taken on Twitter to bring people from various walks of life together in real life.
And, it did not end there. The group was expanded and another ‘Khati’ was planned at Cha C Tea in Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar. This time, 14 people attended the tea get together. They included Snehasish Rout, Bimalendu Sarangi, Prabir Sahoo, Mayuresh, Sanjay Khillar, Krushna Nayak, Dr. Biswa Ranjan Kar, Champak, Ashutosh, Surajeet, Manas, Ashish Sarangi, Tapas and Naresh. It’s just a beginning. More such events have been lined up. And, many people have shown interest to join the initiative, which has no agenda except moving out of the virtual world and spend time together.
In this busy world, people work like machines. Getting some quality time out of their busy schedule and spending a few hours with social media friends, may sound difficult, but not impossible. This is the message #KhatiJamiba has given to people living in virtual world. They have shown the way with the right kind of approach. Now, it’s for others to follow suit. The SM2SM (Social Media to Social Meet-Up) initiative rocks…
