Odias in Ireland celebrate Utkal Dibas with music, dance & food

Bhubaneswar: For the third year in a row, Odias living in Ireland celebrated Utkal Dibas and Pana Sankranti in Dublin organised at Rathcoole Community Centre by Odia Society of Ireland on Saturday.

In attendance were 90 Odias along with Rutger Kortenhorst, a Sanskrit teacher in Ireland but originally from the Netherlands (He has been awarded with the Padma Shri) and Jennifer Murray, an Irish lady who helped an Indian during a racist attack in Ireland last summer. Kortenhorst chanted Sanskrit shlokas and was joined by the members. Murray spoke about Indian community and cultural programmes.

The function included a narration on Utkal Dibasa introducing the next generation of Odias to the events leading up to the formation of a separate Odisha state in 1936 based on language. “Our aim was to bring Odia families together to mark the formation of Odisha and celebrate our shared heritage and culture pride with a sense of togetherness and pass it to our younger generation. It creates a sense of belonging,” said Sunita Panda, president of the society.

Children and adults presented a cultural programme that included songs, instrumental music and Sambalpuri dance put together by society’s cultural secretary Swosti Simantini. The children’s dance choreography was done by Odissi dancer Bagmi Pragyan Jaysingh, a member. Nirupama Sahoo and Subhasmin Rana anchored the programme.

The highlight was making the ‘pana’, an Odia drink that Swarnalata Sahoo and Rashmi Praba Swain concoted by combining milk, homemade cheese, dry fruits and fruits. The other traditional Odia food included dahi bara-aludum. There was also ghuguni, samosa and gulab jamun cooked by Niladri Mohanty. Vice-president Sambit Mishra, general secretary Prasanna Sahoo and treasurer Jeet Nanda co-ordinated the programme.



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