Day-long ‘Rabindra Darshan’ Programme Held at Santiniketan under Odia Bhasa Vikash Andolan (OBBA)
Balasore, 6/2 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty): A day-long programme titled ‘Rabindra Darshan’ was organised at Santiniketan under the joint initiative of the Odia Department of Visva-Bharati University and the Odia Bhasa Vikash Andolan (OBBA), Balasore.
The programme was held at Bhasha Bhavan, Santiniketan, and witnessed active participation from scholars, poets, students, and literature lovers.
The programme was inaugurated on Thursday morning by Professor Sabita Pradhan, Head of the Odia Department, Visva-Bharati, and former Vice-Chancellor of Satyabadi Odia University, by lighting the ceremonial lamp. In her inaugural address, she observed that such academic and cultural engagements play a vital role in attracting students towards the Odia language and literature and help sustain its intellectual legacy beyond regional boundaries.
OBBA General Secretary Dr. Laxmikanta Tripathy, in his introductory address, spoke on the cultural and philosophical harmony between Santiniketan and Shantikanan. He highlighted Santiniketan’s long-standing contribution to the growth and recognition of Odia language and literature, recalling its deep academic association with Odisha.
OBBA President Dr. Choudhury Satyabrata Nanda, eminent poet Dr. Harischandra Behera, and Dr. Indramani Sahu of the Odia Department, Santiniketan, presented scholarly papers focusing on Rabindranath Tagore’s literary works, his contribution to India’s freedom movement, his relationship with Odisha, and a comparative discussion between the Viswakabi and the classical Odia poetic tradition.
The programme was anchored and coordinated by Visva-Bharati student Sritam, who also formally welcomed the guests. Students of the university, under the guidance of Dr. Rabindra Kumar Das, presented a choral rendition of selected poetic verses by Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gangadhar Meher, and Madhusudan Das.
In a creative segment, poets collectively composed short poems based on the line “Udibaku dena prasarili je akasha kahin”, provided by Professor Sabita Pradhan. These collective poems were curated and presented by poet Dipak Bose and OBBA Organising Secretary Tapan Ray.
A poetry reading session held during the programme saw participation from 125 poets, who recited their works before an attentive audience. Dr. Sarat Kumar Jena delivered an insightful talk on collective poetry and contemporary poetic practices.
In the afternoon session, a stage play titled ‘Dhurjati O Bhanusingha ra Gatha’ was performed. The play was written by Dr. Laxmikanta Tripathy, directed by Niranjan Raut, with music direction by Kalyani Nanda. The production featured dance performances by Basanti De, Archana Kar, Kabita Jena, Snigdha Samantaray, Tripti Rani Patra, Krishna Pradhan, Sunamani Jena, Shanti Bishi, Shantilata Panda, Pushpalata Chakraborty, Mamata Das, and Kalyani Nanda. Acting roles were performed by Benudhar Sahu, Prafulla Kumar Das, Pandit Sanjay Kumar Panda, Jumarnath Patra, Prabhakar Sahu, and Dr. Sarangadhar Tripathy. Dr. Laxman Charan Biswal served as the stage narrator.
On the occasion,
OBBA presented a bust of Fakir Mohan Senapati to the Head of the Odia Department as a mark of respect to the father of modern Odia literature.
Around seventy ‘Rabindra Darshan’ participants, including Professor Manoranjan Pradhan, Nibaran Jena, Mamata Mohapatra, Bijayalakshmi Mahanty Pattnaik, Anjali Panda, Sarat Kumar Mahapatra, Dr. Sirish Chandra Jena, Dr. Ramakanta Nayak, Dr. Kshitiswar Das, Dr. Bhagabat Prasad Das, Arun Chatterjee, Gagan Dalai, and Dr. Ratnakar Singh, attended the programme, making the event a meaningful celebration of Rabindranath Tagore’s thought and the shared literary heritage of Odisha and Santiniketan.
