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Upendra Bhanja birth anniversary celebrated

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR: The birth anniversary of great Oriya poet Kavisamrat Upendra Bhanja was celebrated at his birth place, Kulada village in Ganjam district on Friday night.

Every year Vasanta Purnima or ‘Dola Purnima’ is celebrated as the birthday of this great poet. Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Bhanja Institute of Rural development have been celebrating the birth anniversary at the village since 1992.

Kulada was the capital of erstwhile Bhanja dynasty of south Orissa, whose scion happened to be Upendra Bhanja. Holi also marks large scale festivities at the village. The festival is called Bada Jatra. The villagers of Kulada offer their respect to the great poet at the Narayan and Jagannath temples at the village during this festival. These two temples were established by the Bhanja dynasty during the era of Upendra Bhanja. A village fair continues with the remnants of around 500-year-old palace of Upendra Bhanja as its backdrop.

Literary meet

At the literary and cultural function organised at Kulada in honour of the poet this year noted researcher of Bhanja literarture, Prafulla Das was the guest of honour. He opined that poetic lyrics of Bhanja have played an important role in the evolution of Odissi dance and music. Works of this great poet have been quoted during British era to prove Oriya was an original language with a script of its own, said Shyantanu Rath, assistant station director of Berhampur radio station. A literary summit to discuss the works of the great poet was part of the function in his honour. It was followed by the recital of ‘Bharat Lila’ by an all women troupe from Kavisuryanagar.

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