Odisha CM All Praise For Heart Surgeon Ramakanta Panda’s Wildlife Photo Exhibition In Mumbai

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was on a two-day visit to Mumbai, attended a photo exhibition of Dr Ramakanta Panda, a renowned cardiac surgeon and passionate wildlife photographer, at Jehangir Art Gallery on Wednesday.

Naveen also unveiled his coffee table book ‘Heartbeats’ on the occasion.

“I congratulate Dr Ramakanta Panda, who all of us know as an extraordinary heart surgeon, for this splendid exhibition of wildlife from Africa and India – the proceeds of which will go to children who live near the forested areas,” Naveen said.

The CM was accompanied by 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman V K Pandian during the two-day tour and he returned to Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

The show from November 22 to 27 marks the first solo exhibition for the chairman of Asian Heart Institute and Research Centre, whose Instagram profile reads “heart surgeon by passion and photographer for relaxation”. Around 130 photographs of wildlife from Raigad (Karnala Bird Sanctuary) to the Pench, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Satpura, Bharatpur, Chilika and other tiger or bird sanctuaries to the Maasai Mara and Amboseli National Parks in Kenya, are on display.

Panda (69), who performed a heart by-pass surgery on former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, has been quietly nurturing his private passion for wildlife and nature photography, for more than a decade. He regularly visits wildlife sanctuaries and has a special interest in elephant photography, according to reports.

The proceeds from this exhibition will go towards the Asian Wildlife Trust, a non-profit organisation founded by Panda.