Bhubaneswar: Australia Odia Samaj (Orioz Inc.) organised Kalinga Utsav at the picturesque Point Walters Recreation Centre in Perth in grand style.
The 11th edition of the mega Odia biennial event brought together over a hundred members of Orioz Inc. from all states of Australia, along with their family members, to celebrate the close bonding and strong brotherhood of Odia community.
Dr Manoj Nayak applauded the efforts of Orioz Inc. executive committee in keeping the Odia community engaged in various gainful activities and quality events across the gigantic landscape of Australian continent.
Dr Nayak released the souvenir of the festival ‘Smaranika : Kalinga Utsav – 2025’, compiled by Orioz Inc. secretary Shantanu Swain and designed by IT secretary Jay Behera.
Dr Nayak introduced the Orioz executive committee — vice president Hara Patro, secretary Swain, treasurer Mumtaz Lenka, cultural secretary Amit Mohanty, state chief of New South Wales Smita Samantaray and state chief of Western Australia Bighnaraj.
Among the projects undertaken by Orioz is installing a medical panel at Bhubaneswar to facilitate medical tests of Australian visa applicants.
Former president Rajendra Padhi was felicitated for his contribution towards mentoring and empowering Orioz Inc.
One of the attractions of Kalinga Utsav was a cultural extravaganza by artistes of all age groups, kids to veterans, over two evenings. Coordinated by Mahesh Sahu, the presentations included mesmerising Odissi and folk dances, music recitals and fashion parades.
The highlights of the artistic jamboree were an emotionful Odia bhajan sang by Bighnaraj Mohanty, musical theatre on the theme of Origin of Lord Jagannath as Daru Brahma enacted by kids of New South Wales, a singing session dedicated to late Ollywood superstar Uttam Mohanty ably coordinated by Amit Mohanty, a Quiz show conceptualised by Charu Mishra and a hilarious satirical play entitled ‘Mo Saba Bahaka Mane’ presented by Western Australia Orioz team.
The mega festival also witnessed a thrilling T20 cricket match on the second day, between Hurricane of Orioz WA captained by Ranjan Singh and rest of Australian team Thunderstorm led by Vinu Panigrahi.
Participants were treated to mouthwatering Odia cuisine, prepared under the supervision of Ambit Hota, on all three days of the convention.
The third and final day began with an engrossing Odia Tea session organised by Sujeet Jena and Saibalini Sahoo, followed by an Art workshop curated by Dr Subrat Mishra and Dr Nalini Pati’s power point presentation ‘Mindfulness’.
The Utsav concluded with an emotionally-charged vote of thanks delivered by Mustaque Pilot and Dr Nayak.
