My father Natabihari Das was a Police Officer in Kendrapara. We are six daughters and one brother. All of us are staying in Bhubaneswar. My father was having two brothers. I have three sons and one daughter.  I was born in the year 1944.

 I got married to Mr. Nitai Prashad Das who was working in Secretariat. I was very young then may be around 14 year old. I came to Bhubaneswar in the year 1962 as my husband was posted here.

We started to stay at Old town in Godi Pokhari area in Old town and stayed there for 2 to 3 years, later we came to stay at unit-8 area. We again stayed there on rent for two to three years and around 1969 we were allotted a 2R Quarter in Unit-9. By that time, I was already a mother of three children. Because of the bigger family, it was difficult on our part to manage in a small quarter. We requested Prahallad Mallick then and later we were allotted a three room quarter. We stayed there for quite a long time.

We purchased a plot in Sahidnagar in 1964. By 1968 we started building a house in Sahid Nagar. 2016 my husband expired. We handed over the plot to a builder and raised building on mutual negotiations. Now we are staying here and sold a part of it to people.

I was a social worker when my kids were small. Shanti Das, Meera Das were prominent social workers during the times. I have moved along with them to attend many conferences in Bhubaneswar.

As I was only 14 years old I got married. I have just appeared class 9 and have gone through the half yearly exam. I was a good student. Later my husband cooperated me to study more. I Passed matriculation and PU PP from Kasturba Nari Mahal.  I have also done Kobida in Hindi.

Bhubaneswar was very less crowded at that point of time. Only one to two prominent squares were visible. AG and Raj Mahal Square was two major squares of our time. We just could see a large part of Bhubaneswar from our single floor rooftop. The Bhubaneswar started changing its face quickly within next one decade. The development intensified after 1990. Now its such a large town that you may spend one day to see it.

There were not much people on street. There was on Jhulia Barik Shop in Cuttack Road along with hotel Pushpak, which were hotels that provide cheap meals to people. The road from Vanivihar to Master Canteen was single lane only. Whereas others roads are mohurram.

We used to go to Dhauli, Puri and Khandagiri etc. during holidays. Khandagiri and Dhauligiri were ticketless. Rupa Mandira used to charge 1 rupees for shows. We have seen Mera Naam Jokar, Hati Mera Saathi, Aradhana were major movies I have watched in halls.

By 1970s, Rabindra Mandap has emerged as a point of cultural attraction to many of us. Different line depts. of the Govt organised cultural shows in the same hall. The gathering was good as people love to visit these places for entertainment which comes at zero cost to them.

There was no city bus plying then. We used to travel by bike and rickshaw. From Unit-9 to Roopa Mandira Cinema Hall, rickshaw used to charge us Rs 2.00 rupees. Auto was also not available. My husband used to get very less salary. He used to get Rs 25,000 when he retired. In 1995 he retired from job. The pay was very less then as it was not revised for long.

We are not allowed to go outside of our home alone. We used to travel in group, either with hubby or with kids and friends. We used to stay in large joint families. Housewives were having lot of restriction. Even those who were working in different offices were also forced to come back home latest by evening. There were challenges all around but we savoured them. As large part of the Bhubaneswar was not lighted by 1960, people find it difficult to travel by night. But after 1970 the situation changed to a large extent. Traffic Police came to existence around 1990. After 1995 the city grew to a large extent. And many services were annexed.

Gajalaxmi Puja, Ganesh Puja and Durga Puja were major festivals. After 1995, the festivals started appearing in squares. Students were obsessed with self studies. As Middle class family we could not afford coaching for all children. The education was not very costly. We used to spend Rs 500/ month towards education of two of my children. Students were getting good jobs . Officials jobs were available till 1980. Most of them preferred to do job than business.

We used to get piped water. The quality of water was very good. We never had the luxury of using RO or any other filtered water. Now the quality of water, has detoriated so much so that, we are using RO and other filtered water but we still suffer a lot due to bad water quality.

Capital Hospital was one of the most preferred health centre. There existed no clinics. Few doctors used to practice after office and provide support to people out of their home. They used to charge Rs 20 to Rs 50 for consultation.