Rich tributes were paid to eminent Odia actor, playwright and lyricist Atal Bihari Panda by members of the Western Odisha Community of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai on Sunday in a symbolic condolence meeting that was organized in line with Covid-19 protocols.

Atalbabu had a strong connect with the UAE. His maiden and only foreign trip was in September 2017 when he had come to attend the Nuakhai Bhetghat celebrations in Dubai.  He was 88 years old then and had mersmerised the audience with his energy, enthusiasm and zest for life, recalled the members. Video clippings from his visit were played out. People were particularly impressed by his ‘Age is just a number’ speech at the Nuakhai bhetghat.

He had also enthralled the audience when he surprisingly joined the kids on stage, dancing to a song from one of his films. His dance with the kids was one of the enduring memories of that event.

 All the attendees fondly recalled about their own interactions with Atalbabu during his Dubai trip, they said. Senior member of the community Priyadarshee Panigrahi appealed to the Government of India to confer India’s prestigious civilian award – Padma Shri on Panda. This would be a befitting tribute to Panda and his legacy, he said.  The meeting overwhelmingly passed a resolution on the request and resolved to kick-start an international campaign to petition the Government on the issue. Active member of the community Pritish R Dash, seconded the appeal. Sudhanshu, a sales and marketing professional, who hails from Subarnapur, the district in which Atalbabu resided, particularly recalled his smiling demeanor and said that this inspired him to lead a positive and fun-filled life.

IT professional and poet-writer Prashant Meher, while conducting the function talked about UAE’s western Odisha’s community’s link and love for Atalbabu.Other prominent attendees Rajesh Tripathy and Alokmay Behera were unanimous in their views that steps should be taken to protect, promote and preserve Atalbabu’s body of works.