Odisha’s Konark Sun Temple & Odissi Finds Mention In PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’

Bhubaneswar: Yet again, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’—through which he interacts with citizens on various issues—had references made to Odisha’s culture and heritage. This time, the PM’s speech had a mention of Odissi dance and Konark temple.

PM hails dancer’s efforts to impart Odissi training in Peru

Modi, in his speech, hailed the contributions of a young Odissi dancer, María Valdés, from Peru for imparting training in the classical Indian dance form in the South American country. He claimed that the ‘Indian classical dance’ was creating waves of popularity in many countries of South America.

For instance, he witnessed local artistes performing “Phalak Phalam” – ‘The Ramayana of Laos’ during his visit to the country. “The same devotion in their eyes, the same dedication in their voice, exactly what we have for Ramayana. Similarly, in Kuwait, Shri Abdullah Al-Barun has translated Ramayana and Mahabharata into Arabic. This work is not just a translation, but a bridge between two great cultures…Another inspiring example from Peru is Erlinda Garcia. Erlinda Garcia is teaching Bharatanatyam to the youth there and María Valdés is imparting training in Odissi dance,” he said.

Reference to virtual tour of Konark’s Sun Temple

Praising ‘Original Indian Content’— which reflects glimpses of our culture— being created with the help of animation, the PM said such efforts were popularising virtual tourism. At this point, he reffered to the virtual tours of Konark temple in Odisha. He had also referred to the virtual tours of Ajanta caves and the ghats of Varanasi. “Today in this sector, along with Animators, the demand for story tellers, writers, voice-over experts, musicians, game developers, VR and AR experts is also constantly rising. Therefore, I would like to tell the youth of India – expand your creativity. Who knows, the world’s next super hit animation might emerge out of your computer!,” he said, urging youths to make India an ‘animation power house’ in the coming days.

Odisha CM tunes into ‘Maan Ki Baat’

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi listened to the PM’s monthly radio programme at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Sunday (October 27). Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and senior officials were also present with him. Later, he took to social media to share what the PM mentioned about the virtual tourism in Odisha’s Konark. This is not the first time that the PM had made references to Odisha in his speech. Earlier, he had praised Ramjeet Tudu of Mayurbhanj for developing a digital platform to preserve the Santhali language during the 114th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat.’

The PM had mentioned about Odisha’s Sambalpuri handloom saree among other handloom products of the country and appreciated the weavers in the 112th edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat.’ CM Mohan Majhi had then expressed his gratitude to the PM on behalf of the people of Odisha.