Odia Society of Singapore (OSS) celebrated Utkal Dibasa 2018 with grand fanfare in an Odia culture centered extravaganza on the eve of Utkal Divasa on March 31st.
Guests of honour for the event were Padma Shri Dr. Pratibha Ray (Eminent Author),Mr. Baijayant Panda (Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Industrialist and Columnist), Mr. Krishna Beura(Singer, Composer, Song Writer, Director, Photographer) and Ms. Anu Choudhury (Film Actress (Odia, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu)).
The Odia community in Singapore felt privileged to celebrate the Utkal Divasa in Singapore amongst famous personalities who are living icons in their respective fields of Literature, Business, Music, and Acting and who came all the way from India to Singapore only for this event. The event was held in Singpost Auditorium, Paya Lebar.
In this Event Panel discussion was conducted with Dr. Pratibha Ray(moderated by Mr. Pratyusha Hota), Mr. Baijayant Panda (moderated by Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty)and Ms. Anu Choudhury(moderated by Mr. Sambit Mishra) in the fields of literature, economy & business, and movies respectively.
Mr. Krishna Beura’s LIVE show enthralled the audience and the Odia diaspora in Singapore got a chance to get mesmerized with the voice of India’s one of most popular singers performing Bollywood famous songs and Odia hit songs. ‘Ahe Nila Saila’ was the first song sung by Mr. Krishna Beura as a tribute to Lord Jaganatha. Mr. Beura surprised the audience with his voice mimicry of Mr. Amitabh Bachan and other key Bollywood superstars.
Classical Dance for Ma Durga was performed by the team of Ms. Indu Kanan. There was a music medley beautifully performed by 21 talented children.
Annual signature award of the Society ‘Singapore Odia Ratna 2018’ was given to Mr. Soumya Ranjan Singh for his contributions to the development of the Odia community in Singapore. The award was presented by Mr. Baijayant Panda and Dr. Pratibha Ray to Mr. Singh.
A tribute to Swararabinda late Shri Arabinda Muduli was paid at the beginning of the event to remember his support, contributions and prayers for the Odia community during his Singapore visits for Society events in 2016 and 2017.
Prasanta Patnaik