Our Bureau
New York, NY
In a unique move, three Odias living in the US booked a time slot in a billboard at Times Square, New York, to showcase Odia pride, culture and heritage. They played eight videos provided by Odias living across the world, including sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik and writer Jitender Narayan Dash, popularly known as Dash Benhur, at 8:30 pm on March 31 to match Odisha’s Utkal Divas celebration timings.
Also , members of Odia community gathered to celebrate Utkal Diwas at the Indian Consulate in New York. This event was hosted by the Indian Consulate and the Odisha Society of North America.
The consulate wrote on X, “@IndiainNewYork celebrated #UtkalDiwas in partnership with @OdishaSocietyNA . Honored by the presence of Swami Sarvapriyananda of @VedantaNY as chief guest. Gratitude to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha Shri @Naveen_Odisha and Hon’ble Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp for his message. Colorful dance performances showcased the cultural richness of the vibrant state of Odisha.”
Odisha Day, also known as Utkala Dibasa, is celebrated on 1 April in the Indian state of Odisha in memory of the formation of the state as a separate state out of Bihar and Orissa Province with addition of Koraput District and Ganjam District from the Madras Presidency on 1 April 1936.
