The Hands That Hold Heritage: A Symbolic Preservation by Jyotiranjan Gudia

Hands of Jyotiranjan Gudia, he has saved for his feature generation.

This image shows the imprints of the hands of Jyotiranjan Gudia, purposefully preserved as a living record a tribute to identity, culture, and contribution. These are not merely hands; they are the carriers of knowledge, tradition, and transformation. With each line etched on his palms, they tell the story of a young scholar from the indigenous Didayi community, carving out a path for both personal achievement and communal pride. Jyotiranjan Gudia is the first Ph.D. scholar of the Didayi tribe in Malkangiri district, Odisha, and is currently pursuing his doctoral research at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar. His academic journey is grounded in his deep cultural roots, with a dissertation focused on the continuity and change in the traditional political system of the Didayi tribe. His work is a bridge between ancestral wisdom and modern academia. These hands have held the tools of learning books, pens, and field notes and have also offered greetings in tribal gatherings, written letters of advocacy, and drawn portraits that celebrate tribal identity. Saving these prints is a powerful act much like a signature etched in time serving as a reminder for future generations that progress and tradition can go hand in hand, quite literally. As the saying goes, “Our future is shaped by the work of our hands.” Jyotiranjan's hands are shaping a legacy one of dignity, scholarship, and cultural preservation.