OdishaLIVE Bureau
Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) is cited in popular textbooks used in Introductory Anthropology & Cultural Anthropology courses in USA. A small idea, backed by the passion of one individual grows into an institution and that institution has today become a revolution.
As KISS is world’s largest anthropology laboratory, it finds place in text books in USA. The students of Anthropology far and wide will know about KISS as a preserver of World’s first population – indigenous. As a result, thousands of university students in the US will now have some knowledge about Odisha, Tribal of Odisha and KISS. As KISS is a successful model for eradication of poverty through education, it has become a subject of research for many eminent and reputed anthropologists from India and abroad.
Findings of a research work on KISS has now featured in two popular textbooks, namely ‘Window on Humanity-A Concise Introduction to Anthropology’ and ‘Mirror for Humanity-A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (8th Edition) written by Conrad Philip Kottak. These two books are very popular for introductory level anthropology course in U.S. universities.
US Fulbright Scholar & Professor in Anthropology, Ms. Christine Finnan had joined KISS during 2014 – 15 for doing extensive research on the institute. As a part of her research work, she gathered stories and personal accounts about the school and its impacts by interviewing 160 people including students, alumni, parents, staff, teachers, administrators and visitors.
Prof. Finnan keenly observed how the students of the institute are achieving success in academics, sports and cultural field. She also visited tribal villages to find out why parents send their children so far to KISS. Subsequently, her case study report on KISS was published in a reputed Anthropological journal, from which the author of the books has sourced information on KISS. The author of the textbooks has sourced most of the information from the article that appeared last year in the Sapiens, a reputed anthropological magazine.
This had to happen- KISS having reference in anthropological books. A good cause served well creates humble waves across social taboos. Dr. Samanta has done just that through trials and tribulations, failures & successes, friends and enemies in developing KISS, which btw is a University today. 1993 to 2004 I have heard of….but 2005 till 2017 I have personally seen and also somewhat participated. Did he not have critics? Did he not have persons with mainly personal improvement and less general improvement revenue programs? Does he still not have them? So what?- Achyuta Samanta moves on with the good, the bad and the ugly in his own strident ways and with his demenaour.
But he sure needs GOOD people with him today more than ever….persons whose lives are dedicated to unconditional service to humanity even though they may be unconsciously incompetent/unaware of the political dynamics and social tensions as in the Middle East, Nth Korea, Europe currently. The World is going in for a toss slowly- Hurricane IRMA and HARVEY notwithstanding…. We are over-heated and the “fruits of our efforts are ripening”…everyone’s day of reckoning is coming forward as Artificial Intelligence takes control of our lives and living- as is being determined by the Powers that Be.
So let everyone’s intentions be exposed to serve humanity. And allow persons like Founders of KISS and others to silently go on performing as they wish to w/o turbulence…..& of course let odisha.live move ahead too….. ciao!