Assam Governor attends celebrations of Utkal Divas
Guwahati,Rongili Barta- Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria attended the celebrations of Utkal Divas which was organized by Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada and Jagannath Temple Trust, Guwahati at Shri Shri Madhavdeva International Auditorium in Guwahati. The Governor extended his wishes on the occasion of Utkal Divas and 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. We should also remember the institutions, the community, the unsung heroes who worked hard so that now we can enjoy the fruits of having a full-fledged State of Odisha”. Governor Kataria said that 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. Drawing allegory between Assam and Odisha, the Governor said that though the states are geographically dispersed by around two thousand kilometers, yet 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. President of Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada P.K.Mishra, Secretary of Kalinga Sanskritika Sansada Manoranjan Dash along with a host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion.