JAJPUR,18/02;Close friends and relatives of a British citizen Derrick Moore established a school at Nanpur in jajpur in his memory as Derrick was cremated after his death in village Nanpur as per his last wish.The art and culture school was inaugurated recently in the picturesque and riverside village Nanpur by his close friend and associate noted writer and artist Prafula Mohanty on the occasion of the death anniversary of Deerick.Every time Prafulla Mohanty the author of books like My Village, My Life, Indian Village Tales, Changing Life, and Through Brown Eyes used to visit his native village Nanpur as always, he was accompanied by his English friend Derrick Moore, an ex-Army man who was stationed in India during the Second World War and worked as a lawyer in London.Mohanty moved to England in 1960 with an architecture degree from Bombay. In 1964 he earned a diploma in town planning at Leeds, and also held his first solo exhibition of paintings In London he came in contact with Derrick Moore in 1964 and since 1964, both Mohanty and Moore had been coming to the village Nanpur .” Derrick was ill in England for which I decided to visit last winter to my village Nanpur alone. But Derrick told me that he had a last wish to die in Odisha for which he came to Nanpur with me on 18th December 2011. But he fell ill and died on 15th February in a private Nursing home in Bhubaneswar at the age of 84. His body was cremated near our house in Nanpur where he used to spend his times . I was completely devastated after his death. We built a school in the memory of the man who loved rural Odisha and dedicated his life for the upliftment of the villagers of Nanpur. My village was his second home”, said Prafula Mohanty.Prafulla Mohanty came from London to open the school. ” Children will learn arts, paintings and dances in this school. I also provided four computers to this school as many children are interested to learn computers . We spent about ten Lakh to build the school “, said Prafulla Mohanty.”Derrick Moore was interested to promote arts and culture of our state for which it is a great tribute to him by opening an arts and culture school in his memory in our village”, said Santosh Mohanty a villager. For nearly half a century Prafulla Mohanti has made two homes, one in his village Nanpur and the other in London , with all its sweet bitter memories that a western urban living has brought about. In the process, his work and persona have achieved a remarkable blend of two apparently dissimilar human civilizations. Prafulla Mohanty came from London recently and celebrated Death annivarasary of Derrick.
BY AKSHYA ROUT