Eminent Odishi and Bharatnatyam exponent Sonal Mansingh and ace sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra took oath as Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday.
Both of them had been nominated to the Upper House of Parliament on July 14 by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Mansingh is considered as one of India’s foremost exponents of Indian classical dance forms and has been performing Odishi and Bharatnatyam for over six decades. She was earlier awarded Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Odishi dance.
Mohapatra is famous for his contributions towards preservation of traditional sculpture and ancient monuments. He has also worked on the beautification of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. Now, he is pursuing his proposal for building a second Konark temple near the Bhubaneswar-Puri highway
He was earlier awarded Padma Shri in 1975 and Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in 2001 and 2013, respectively.