SMILING TRIBE- THE JUANGS.

The Agri activities carried out by my organisation have sometimes brought forth important observations which form the basis of some new understanding of peoples life and culture,moreso if they belong to important ,endangered tribe like The Juangs. My brief interaction with some of them back in 2008 increased my quest for knowing about them albeit helped by our continuous agri activities in the areas of Banspal,Telkoi & Harichandanpur of Keonjhar district . Their simple lifestyle tempered with relegious colouring,smiling faces despite rigours of jungle life are deeply etched in my mind. The Juangs are an important tribe among 46 tribes in the district of Keonjhar. They trace their birth to the Hills of Gonasika,from where river baitarani originates The word Juang means 'Man'.Infact they are also known as Patra-Savaras(leaf) As we are all aware from the history of ancient times the Savaras used to dress themselves up in Leaves.Their own dialect is known as Kolarian,but constant integration and mingling have made them speak a distinct oriya. Their habitat is constantly on move because they find it inauspicious to settle permanently anywhere.The Juangs are primarily patrilineal and monogamy is commonly prevalent and more importantly Levirate &soroate type of marriages are in existence The Juang life is always in consonance with the nature and they pray The Sun God and Earth Goddess.The Gramshree is the presiding deity of the village All their joyous and relegious activities are marked by dancing and singing with the Drum (changu) being the main attraction The Juangs are divided into two distinct groups known as Bandhu & kutumba and marriage within the same clan is considered incestuous What I found very interesting is the division of labor among male & female While adult males undertook strenuous activities like ploughing and hoeing and even watching the crops at night (incidentally couple of persons died when wild bear attacked them in our maize area) ,the cleaning of seeds for sowing,weeding,and harvesting are done by the ladies Their celebratory approach to life standout and their societal norms are as formalized as ours. One can only marvel at the fact that our ancient tribes are as developed as ours with a heightened life quotient satisfaction level than us. As I conclude memories pleasant are deeply etched in my mind and longing to be with the smiling faces once again.

SAFFLOWER- A NEW AGE OIL SEED CROP

In recent times there has been much talk regarding a minor oil seed crop called Safflower.It basically belongs to the same family as Sunflower.The crop was originally grown in the Mediterranean,north eastern Africa & south western Asia & India for the flowers that are used in making red & yellow dyes for clothing and food preparation But nowadays its use has been broadbased to include oil,meal,birdseed,&raw materials for various industrial products.Infact it is increasingly used in cosmetics & cooking oil thesedays. Safflower seed contains 30-40% oil and nutritionally similar to sunflower.India is ranked number one in global safflower production & acerage with almost 3lakh hectre but due to poor productivity it constitutes only 29% of the global production The current productivity is only 630kg/hect as compared to the global productivity of 893kg/hect and it constitutes seventh place in the area dedicated to oilseeds in India Maharashtra,karnataka,Gujurat&Andhrapradesh are the major safflower producing states Safflower as a source for pigment ,medicinal & nutritional use can be encouraged More importantly Indian safflower has a special demand as bird feed in international market due to special appearance. The time has come to concentrate on these minor oil produce as it has increased value added component.With established oil seed crops taking precedence,a slight deviation from the cropping pattern can work wonders where the former fails to deliver I presume it would be a good alternative to the established oil crops.