Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Marking of celebration of Utkal Divas, Odias at
Kolkata Welfare Association, popularly known as OAK, celebrated its
annual festival ‘Vande Utkala Janani -VUJ -2018’ at Science City Main
Auditorium, Kolkata with patriotic fervour on Monday.
Speaking on this occasion, OAK president Guru Prasad Pattnaik said,
“The function of OAK is being held to remember the foundation day of
Odisha after it was carved out of the combined Bengal-Bihar-Orissa
province and became a separate state on April 1, 1936. The entire OAK
collective in Kolkata on this day pays tributes to the legends and
renowned personalities who had fought for Odisha.
Addressing the gathering, OAK secretary Pradeep Mohaptara said, “OAK
is a platform for people from Odisha settled/living in Kolkata to
come together and contribute meaningfully to the society at large. We
are actively involved in many charitable activities that include
helping the underprivileged and people living in the fringes of the
society.”
The mega attraction of this year’s Vande Utkal Janani- 2018 was
India’s Raw Star -2014 Rituraj Mohanty, who kept the audience
spellbound with his melodious voice.
The second attraction was a very talented and upcoming artiste Ashima
Panda from Odisha, who is making waves for her lilting tunes and
versatility. ‘Mo Haldi Gina, Tu Mo Hero’ are some of her recent hits
plus the Bhajans and romantic numbers which have caught the audiences
imaginations.
The surprise event was the performance of ‘Jugala Sankha Badya’ by
Pabitra Kumar Mohapatra and his troupe from Berhampur, ‘Ranapa’, an
old difficult art was displayed by them in the most sublime and
rhythmic form.
The programme opened with the rendition of the state anthem of Odisha
‘Vande Utkala Janani’ by the lady members of OAK.
