Cuttack: As the historic Bali Jatra commemorating the state’s rich maritime history kicks off on the bank of Mahanadi in Cuttack, Odisha and Indonesia seek to give a boost to ties in trade, business and culture on the occasion.
While the nine-day annual festival commemorates the ancient maritime trade links between India and Southeast Asia, senior cultural official of Indonesia Embassy in New Delhi, Hanafi, is visiting the millennium city to participate in the event.
After visiting the Odisha State Maritime Museum, he expressed happiness over the exhibits and also presented some gifts symbolising the culture and traditions of Indonesia to be displayed in the museum.
He thanked the Odisha government, Kalinga International Youth Foundation and Indonesia government for their joint efforts to make annual Bali Jatra a world-class festival.
Speaking to media, Hanafi said the objective of his visit is mainly to attend the opening ceremony of Bali Jatra. He also intended to present a few items for display at the maritime museum, particularly for the Indonesian gallery.
Noting that he felt elated that the ties between Odisha and Indonesia are growing strong, he said he visited the maritime museum and was very happy to see all the age-old items of Indonesia being preserved here. “We also have preserved several items of Odisha in our museum in Indonesia,” he said
President of Kalinga International Youth Foundation, Bibhu Prasad Swain said this initiative has been taken with the help of Indonesia Embassy in New Delhi, government of Indonesia, government of Bali, Odisha State Maritime Museum and Odisha government.
They are keen to see the revival of the maritime trade and Indonesia has tremendous love and affection for Odisha and they are contributing a lot to the maritime museum, he said.
It may be noted here that Bali Jatra commemorates the annual event in ancient Odisha where merchants would sail off to cities in Southeast Asia to trade with retreating monsoon winds powering their sails.
