The western Odisha community of United Arab Emirates (UAE) organised a ‘Nuankhai Bhetghat-2016’ in Dubai on October 7 last.
The chief guest was Anurag Bhushan, the Consul General of India, Dubai. The star attraction of the event was Jitendra Haripal, the male voice in the famous and super hit Rangabati song in Sambalpuri language.
The Indian Consulate auditorium was transformed into a mini western Odisha. The air was full of melodious Sambalpuri songs and the beats of Dhol, Nisan, Tasha and Jhanj reverberated in the auditorium. The crowd was very aptly dressed for the occasion. ladies were wearing their best Sambalpuri handloom Sarees while the men wore beautiful Sambalpuri Kurtas and shirts. The Children looked lovely in their attractive Sambalpuri dresses. It was indeed a feast for the eyes.
The event began at around 11am in the morning with the rendering of Samalei Bandana. Prayers and the ‘Nua Dhan’ were offered to Goddess Samaleswari.
To commemorate the event, a desk-top calendar depicting iconic images and culture of western Odisha was unveiled by Bhushan and Haripal. It was given to all the attendees as a souvenir.
Bhushan also felicitated Haripal and his team with mementos.
There were fantastic performances by resident Odias of UAE and their children. Sambalpuri dances by kids performed on popular Sambalpuri songs stole the show. Many Sambalpuri songs were also rendered by popular local Odia singers.
One of unique programmes during the event was the recreation of the famous ‘Dhanu Yatra’ of Bargarh.
Governor of Odisha Dr SC Jamir and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted the community on Nuankhai and wished the event all success through their written messages. Video messages from loka Kabi Padmashree Haladhar Nag, Bollywood director Padmashree Nilamadhab Panda, actor, director and producer Sadhu Meher and WODC chairman Kishore Mohanty were also played.