Guwahati: Assam Governor Shri Gulab Chand Kataria attended the celebrations of Utkal Divas on Sunday, April 2, 2023. The programme was organized by Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada and Jagannath Temple Trust, Guwahati at Shri Shri Madhavdeva International Auditorium in Guwahati. The function started with Bande Utkal Janani. The Governor extended his wishes on the occasion of Utkal Divas. Addressing the gathering, he said, “On April 1, 1936 Utkal Prant was formed as the first linguistic state of the country.
“On this occasion, let us remember the contributions Madhusudan Das, Utkal-Mani Gopabandhu Das, Maharaj Krishna Chandra Gajapati, Madhusudan Rao, Pandit Neelkanth Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Rai and others and pay tributes to those great personalities who contributed immensely to the Statehood of Odisha.
Assam Governor Kataria said the Odisha has great contributions in enriching the spiritual orientation and giving the people a strong identity.
Puri Jagannath Temple is the testimony to the spiritual identity of the people. He said Rah Yatra is the celebrated all over India.
Drawing allegory between Assam and Odisha, the Governor said that linkages between Assam and Odisha have deep historical and civilization roots, going back to several centuries. Underlining the similarities between the states, Governor also said that Assam and Odisha share strong bond of friendship. Several people are responsible for building this bridge of friendship.
The first pillar of this invisible bridge was created by the 16th century philosopher-saint Srimanta Sankardeva who visited Puri twice and sowed the seeds of pious friendship.
The second pillar was built by the tea garden workers who migrated from Odisha to Assam to give Assam the sprawling tea industry.
The Governor also said that both the Odia and Assamese communities are devoted to Lord Jagannath. The Vaisnava cult of Lord Jagannath is seen to have got resurgence under the influence of Srimanta Sankaradeva in Assam who spent maximum period of his pilgrimage at Puri.
He thanked the organizer for having celebrated Utkal Divas in Assam and thus giving opportunity to the people of the state to celebrate and cherish the essence of the day.
He expressed his pleasure to know that Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada is taking various initiatives for constructing Lord Jagannath Temple cum Vedic Cultural Centre at Guwahati. The Govt. of Assam has allotted a piece of land at Mathgharia, Patharquary, Guwahati for the purpose. The Govt. of Assam is also constructing road to the complex. He assured to provide all necessary support required for completion of this project.
Shri Manoranjan Dash, Secretary of Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada, Guwahati, said KSS has been taking several initiative to provide a platform to the Odias staying in and around Guwahati. Construction of Lord Jagannath Temple at Guwahati is one of them. Besides, KSS has most often played as Brand Ambassador of the State of Odisha in Assam by facilitating pilgrimage tours to the people of Assam to Puri and other places of Odisha.
Members present requested more support of Govt. Of Assam and Govt. Of Odisha to provide all necessary support to Kalinga Sanskritka Sansada and Lord Jagannath Temple Trust, Guwahati in construction of Lord Jagannath Temple at Guwahati. Members requested Governments Of Assam and Odisha for allotment of Odisha Bhawan at Guwahati, resume direct flight between Guwahati to Bhubaneswar etc. The most critical issue is that the Odias migrated to Assam from Odisha during colonial rule and presently working in various tea garden areas, have forgotten their language. Hence, they requested the Govt. of Odisha to take necessary action so that Odia language is spreaded in these localities.
They requested the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha to take such initiatives for sustaining the cultural bond between Odisha & Assam. Shri Manoranjan Dash requested all to come forward and join hand in construction of Jagannath Temple at Guwahati.
Eldest member of Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada, Guwahati Shri Prasanna Kumar Mishra, extended heartful thanks to Hon’ble Governor for his insightful thought on Jagannath culture and Odisha & Assam bond. He extended thanks to people who travelled from far away places of Assam and other NE States to attend the function. He extended heartful thanks to the sponsorers of the programme viz. State Bank of India, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Megahlaya Cement, Maithan Alloys and other organisations.
On the occasion of Utkal Divas several artiste performed Odissi, Sambalpuri, Satriya, Nagranam etc. The function ended with National Anthem.
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