President Pranab Mukherjee has desired to visit Puri again during the Nabakalebar festival of lord Jagannath next year.
Mukherjee was fondly remembering his last visit in April to the Twelfth- Century Jagannath Temple when he spent nearly half an hour in the Sanctum Sanctorum worshiping the Trinity.
Odisha Tourism Minister Ashok Panda and Secretary Arabinda Padhee met the President here at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. Dr Padhee, who is also the Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Adminis-tration, presented the President lord Jagannath’s Nirmalya.
The Prasad cooked in the lord’s shrine becomes Maha Prasad after being offered to Maa Bimala, and when it dries up it is called Nirmalya.
A book on lord Jagannath was also presented to Mukherjee. The President has, meanwhile, advised the Union Government to release required funds for the Nabakalebar fest.
Panda and Dr Padhee requested Mukherjee to grace the golden jubilee celebrations of the RD Women’s College and the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, both in Bhubaneswar. The President was also urged to inaugurate the new campus of the Utkal University of Culture at Madanpur near Bhubaneswar.