Last year (2025) on November 10, at the insistence of my student, Jaya Prakash, after the conference at Pattamundai, I travelled to Jeypore. Jaya Prakash is an assistant professor who teaches at the Government Model Degree College in Nabarangpur, Odisha. The college had invited me to speak on Teaching Feminism in India: Language, Culture and Classroom Challenges.
Unfortunately, the train from Bhubaneshwar to Jeypore was delayed, and by the time we reached the college, it was noon. The delay, the overnight travel, and the little fatigue I was feeling dissolved the moment I saw the students. Their enthusiasm and their bubbliness were enough to adrenalize me.
Knowing they were undergraduate students, I offered a brief historical perspective and then tuned my talk toward the everyday issues of feminism, the problems of gender, and the challenges these pose in our daily lives.. The students listened attentively to the lecture, but the beauty of the lecture was the discussion that ensued. I was amazed by the students articulating in English and their attempt to understand what feminism could mean to them. Their excitement, their ebullience, and their interest were so infectious that all that I could think of was how much I could share with them. For a few hours, it seemed that all that mattered was the diffusion and dissemination of knowledge.
There were only two faculty members teaching English, and even they did not have a proper staff room. Despite the many hardships and the lack of resources, the college reminded me that what matters most is the thirst for knowledge. The students, in turn, taught me many versions of women’s lives and how these lives are shaped in our everyday living. Their appreciation and earnestness humbled me.
My acknowledgements to the principal of the college, Shri Binoda Bihari Behera, Head of the English department, Hrushikesh Subudhi, Guest faculty, Trilochan Nayak, and the faculty of other departments. A special thanks to Jaya Prakash, who was instrumental in bringing me there.
