Maritime Heritage Gallery Inaugurated At State Museum In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Maritime Heritage Gallery was inaugurated at the State Museum in Bhubaneswar on Friday. The gallery offers an opportunity to take a look at the history of the ancient ports of Odisha and the ancient maritime traditions.

Odia Language, Literature and Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi inaugurated the gallery at a virtual ceremony held at the conference room of the Sanskriti Bhavan.

Manoranjan Panigrahi, the department’s chief administrative secretary, threw light on how Odisha’s merchants had been able to establish cultural colonies with trade in the river and also added about the South-East Asian economic scenario at that time.

The occasion was marked by the publication of English booklet The Intimate Encounters: Early Odisha and South East Asia prepared by the Institute. The booklet was unveiled by the minister along with another Odia Book Lock Down written by Manoranjan Panigrahi.

Rs 5 lakh have been spent on building the gallery. The Maritime Heritage Gallery will provide a lot of information to students, scholars and enthusiasts. This is a first of its kind in the state, said the minister. This Gallery is packed with rare photographs, art, and artifacts, antiquities, port sites and ancient currencies.