Sambalpuri Film 'Sala Budha' in Balangir

Sabyasachi Mohapatra directed and Mahapatra Movie Magic Pvt. Ltd presented ‘Sala Budha’ is the third film in Sambalpuri dialect after ‘Bhukha’ and ‘Ulgulan’. 

Premiere show of the film was held on 30^th November 2012 at Town Hall Balangir where a hoard of talented and renowned artistes joined at the venue to witness the show as well as to observe the silver jubilee celebration of the first ever Sambalpuri movie ‘Bhukha’ made 25 years back by the same director.

While the director had highlighted the plight of the folk drum beaters of the western Odisha in his earlier Sambalpuri movie ‘Bhukha’, this time he has tried to present plight of the elderly persons in the society through a simple story set in a village of pre-independent western Odisha. The story of ‘Sala Budha’ or ‘The stupid Old man’ revolves around an old village head, the Sarpanch of a village, who tries his best to take care of the subjects at any cost. The film has successfully depicted the strong relationship of the earlier days in the villages of western Odisha and the innocence, simplicity and righteousness of the Old man, who finally gets his reward from the King.

The story of the film seems much interesting and contains a lot of elements to make the audience sit tight throughout the film. Apart from the main story, many folksy culture and practices have been exhibited in the film, such as the ‘Ghubukudu’, ‘Mudtupaa’, ‘Haldimakha’ during the marriage, exchanging teasing words during the marriage for fun and beyond that the kindness of the village women, who even nourishes a beggar at the night.

We wish all the best to the film and hope that ‘Sala Budha’ should grab some awards in the international Film festivals. Kudos to the director and the whole unit of ‘Sala Budha’.

Artists – Atal Bihari Panda (The old man), Tapaswini Guru ( Wife of the Old man), Netranand Barik, Prithwiraj Nayak (The King), Bijaya Tripathy (The royal cook), Ghasiram Mishra (The village priest), Ratan Meher, Sobha Sinha, Bhanumati Dash (first female theatre artist of Balangir), Gadadhar Barik (the bad man), Purusottam Mishra, Pradyumn Sahu, Pabitra Dansena,

Music – Ramesh Mahanand

Cinematography – Aum Prakash Mahapatra

Producer – Sushant Mahapatra, Co-producer – B. Chintu Mahapatra

Written By – Sri Kapileswar Prasad Mahapatra

Dialogue – Atal Bihari Panda

(If anybody knows more about any cast and crew of the movie and not mentioned here, please convey it in the comment box so that it can be updated) 

CHILD SMILE Observed CHILDREN'S DAY Among Blind Students

CHILD SMILE, a NGO dedicated to children, celebrated the CHILDREN'S DAY on 14th November 2012 among the students of the Blinds' School, Patharchepa village in Balangir of Odisha.

Chief Guest of the function Bharati Behera, Board Member of District C.W.C. (Child Welfare Committee) Balangir, articulated her respect to Jawaharlal Neheru, the first Prime Minister of India whose birthday is observed as the Children’s day in India.She also recounted his achievements and ideal steps.

The Chief Speaker lighted the candle and depicted about the value of education in life.

Guest of Honor Mr. Ashok Sahu, teacher of Blind School, Balangir said, "Disability can't check our steps to reach our vision but for our development education is most important" and described children to be the future citizens.

Ms Dipti Mayee Nanda, Chief functionary of CHILD SMILE conducted different participatory activities related to “Child Rights ” amongst the children for their sound understanding. Around 25 students and all the teachers of the school attended the program.

At the end Mr.Samson Das, Volunteer of CHILD SMILE proposed the vote of thanks. Mr. Sanjeeb Chhatria and Mr.Vicky helped organize the program.

Chanakya of CGM will play Ravan in Mahadev on LifeOk

Manish Wadhwa, the great actor, who was playing the role Chanakya in the serial ‘Chandra Gupta Maurya’ will soon be seen in the role of ‘Raavana’ in the spiritual superhit serial ‘Devon Ka Dev Mahadev’ aired on LifeOk. Wadhwa had created a place for him in the heart of the audience and it is his acting aptitude that has fueled a lot of CGM fans to raise their voice for telecast of the historical serial again. CGM advertently got stopped after the airing Channel of the show, the erstwhile Imagine TV was shut down months back. However, the characters Chanakya, Chandragupta and Dhananand had attracted a huge audience.

Wadhwa had not accepted any assignment waiting for CGM though he was been offered a lot of roles. But lastly just to be in the frame right before the eye of his huge fans he decided to appear in the role of Raavana in ‘Devon ka Dev Mahadev’. Of course he has assured that the moment CGM returns back he will again be a part of the great serial and he likes to be the first among others to be included again in the historical saga in his role of Chanakya.

Fans of CGM have taken great pain to see their favorite serial back in TV. Apart from the very famous Facebook page to telecast the serial, rallies have also done in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. But it is matter of high astonishment that despite all these serious efforts to air a serial, a mere NOC could not be issued by Imagine TV. Fans of CGM are astonished to see that in a time, when a lot of unnecessary serials are aired in India, a great serial like CGM has been stopped and though some other channels are interested to telecast it, for reasons unknown Imagine TV is not issuing the NOC.

It will be great to watch Wadhwa again in a serial which teaches a lot of moral. Of course in CGM, he was a total positive character, but here he will play Raavana, who is taken as a symbol of evil despite some of his great qualities.

Fashion Designer From Odisha Rocks in Paris

Pritam Panda, a young Fashion Designer from India was presenting at Paris. This is the Odiya/Oriya designer’s Third invite to the Mecca of Fashion Paris. It was a trip for 10days with two shows and a preview of his spring summer 2013 line.

The first day of Designer Pritam Panda’s trip to the fashion capital saw his much awaited creations for the world legendary doll brand Barbie as they hosted the “HAUTE Barbie on RED CARPET” event, wherein there were designers from across the globe who presented a new look to this magnificent teen craze Barbie and presented their couture creations for the Barbie 2013 new looks.

“FTV has been the official media partners to the HAUTE BARBIE on RED CARPET, so I had to be here and I just love the designs by all the 28fantastic designers and I personally know couple of them..With  Pritam around it has to be the baling factor with little bit of India but very internationally contoured, he is a good friend and we have worked for quite some shoots and events of mine, so when he is in Paris then I have to be here to support him..though I miss the Desi factor from him” says Hofit Golan a friend to the designer  and an Internationally acclaimed Television personality.

“This is for the first time I am doing haute couture for Barbie, it’s a true privilege to do it...but I need to confess that it has been really difficult to finalize the looks and recreate them as I needed to represent my haute couture costumes and styling details just on a 15 inches mannequin that too which is a such a big rage amongst kids. It had to look sensual at the same time we needed to keep an eye on the moral values as it’s going to be available to kids around the world” says Panda.  

Designer Pritam Panda is one amongst the 28 invited young designers who have been invited from 23 different countries across the globe. Panda is representing India in this event with his classic haute couture and styles for the Barbies new haute couture look.

The designer has presented 5 prospective looks for the Barbie and all these five looks are High on glam quotient and very haute couture in their style, the most appreciable till now has been the designers recreation f the Beyonce and the 80s Madonna look that has been quite a favorite amongst the visitors and the panel members of the multi million dollars company that’s manufacturing BARBIE. Most of it is in the designer’s fav color combo of black white and nude, embellished with intricate Swarovski and even the Indian zardousi embellishment. 

Press Release By NCPRI, New Delhi On RTI

PRESS RELEASE

Peoples’ hearing held and resolutions forwarded to the Information Commissions prior to the Annual Convention of Information Commission.

11 October, 2012, Delhi: On the occasion of the 7th anniversary of Right to Information, the Public Hearing organized by the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) bringing together 400 RTI users from 16 states and held a day before the annual convention of State and Central Information Commissioners, which is to be addressed by the Prime Minister, resulted in many resolutions drafted on the basis of people’s experience of using RTI for 7 years being forwarded to the government. Also significant discussions on the recent Supreme Court on the appointment of Information Commissioners and its current and potential impact were discussed threadbare. 

Speaking about the recent Supreme Court judgment, Ms. Deepak Sandhu exhorted RTI users to defend the simplicity of the procedures laid down in the existing RTI Act and not to complicate it with legal processes and formalities. Mr. Shailesh Gandhi former Commissioner stated that the recent Supreme Court judgment will only exacerbate the problem of pendency. “Today if five Information Commissioners are able to dispose of 15000 cases every year, the present judgment of the Supreme Court will reduce the disposal rate to less than 25% of current capacity. This judgment will undermine the efficacy of the RTI Act and will ultimately subject users to even longer waits and delay.”     

   

Speaking about the Right to Information, Mr. Kamal Tank from RTI Manch in Jaipur, lamented that about 9500 cases were pending in Rajasthan, while Pradip Pradhan, RTI activist from Orissa highlighted that 8000 cases are pending in the Orissa State Information Commission. Ms. Geeta Potsangbam representing a Manipur woman’s organization called Machaliema stated that this is a right they are determined to defend at all costs. “In Manipur we have as many as 800 activists who have formed 48 associations across 4 districts to advance this right and ensure that we break the apathy and indifference of the Commissioners” she added. Shanu a physically challenged women residing n Delhi slum shared her travails in accessing information about why her ration had been stopped without any prior information given to her.  Not willing to give up, she filed a second appeal and is awaiting the response from the Commission. But it was the startling revelations of Mr. Abey George a spokesperson of the anti-nuclear struggle of Kudankulam that exposed the real state of affairs. “We filed an RTI case two years ago on the safety of the nuclear plant and it took the Commission a year and a half to respond and when they did respond they do so with a decent order but the government have decided to ignore it and till date we have not got the safety order” he shared.   

Given the mounting pendency cases, which was one of the major complaints of all RTI users, Anjali Bhardwaj, NCPCRI pointed out that even the Central Information Commission is not free of this malaise as it has as high as 28000 pendency cases at present. In this connection one of the key resolution mooted at the meeting was “well defined norms and standards of functioning of information commissions should be adopted.” In this connection it was pointed out that the “recent judgment of the Supreme Court effectively halves the number of commissioners without increasing the total number of commissioners in each information commission and without laying down norms on time-bound disposal of cases at the commission. This will make the RTI ineffective and impede peoples’ fundamental right to information.”  

Shri Wajahat Habibullah commenting on the resolution mooted at the meeting demanding the time bound disposal of cases at the Commission, emphasized the point “unless Section 4 of the Act is not implemented effectively obligating the government to educate the public about all their rights and entitlements, the number of pendency cases will not decrease.” Speaking in support of this appeal, Ms. Deepak Sandhu, Central Information Commissioner assured activists that a 10 day initiative will be implemented in December to monitor compliance of public authorities with the orders of the Commission. She also suggested that the number of commissioners and support staff be appropriately increased to deal with the issue of pendency without affecting the quality of the orders passed by the Commission.

A resolution was passed to this effect that the norms of functioning of information commissions be defined and a mechanism for time bound disposal of cases be adopted. The number of commissioners for each Commission must be determined on the basis of these norms. 

It was also resolved that no case should  be disposed of until either a penalty is levied and recovered and Information Commissioners must ensure that penalties imposed by them are recovered and are entered into the ACR/service record of the concerned official.  

Shri Balwinder Singh an RTI activist from J&K in his impassioned speech urged the government to set up appropriate mechanisms to protect RTI users and the whistleblowers. In the same vein since many other RTI users shared their experience of being intimidated in the process of seeking information,  a resolution was passed urging government to pass a directive mandating that in case of an attack on an RTI user the information sought by the applicant be disclosed and put out in the public domain immediately. Celebrating some of the landmark judgments given by information commissions, citizens spoke of the judgment of  Shri Wajahat Habibullah which included compensation awarded to widows residing in Delhi whose pensions were peremptorily stopped without informing them. In a recent instance Smt. Annapurna Dikshit, CIC has directed the Legislative Assembly of Delhi to publicize the proceedings of the assembly as most citizens have no access to information on the legislations passed and questions raised on the floor of the house .

The Public Hearing was organised by NCPRI in collaboration with other civil society groups including Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Transparency International, CHRI, Accountability Initiative, JOSH, Pardarshita, NFIW, CFAR, Rajasthan RTI Manch, Sanskriti Foundation and Inclusive Media for Change.

For more information please contact Farah at 95605.11667 or Nandini Dey at 99531.53445

Hurricane Sandy in the US in October 2012

The Hurricane Sandy has so far claimed at least 40 lives in the US, while most of the casualties have occurred by falling of trees. However, an unconfirmed report suggests that the Sandy has so far killed 69 people in the Caribbean before making its way up the Eastern Seaboard.

Photo Coursey - NYDailyNews.com

IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm has suggested that the Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damage and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, making it one of the costliest natural disasters on record in the U.S.

New Yorkers found themselves cut off from the modern world Tuesday. Perhaps the hurricane has caused maximum damage in New Jersey, where the storm roared ashore Monday night with hurricane-force winds of 80 mph. Several houses knocked off their foundations there. Of course Lower Manhattan, which includes Wall Street, was the hardest-hit area.

The Sandy also brought snowstorm conditions to parts of West Virginia and neighboring Appalachian states, with more than 2 feet of snow in some places.

Till yesterday, more than 8.2 million people across the East (in US) were without power. Airlines canceled more than 15,000 flights around the world.  

Photo Courtesy - abc News 

Hurricane Sandy has also affected political arena in the country. The presidential campaign has been affected. While President Barack Obama canceled a third straight day of campaigning in Ohio, Republican Mitt Romney resumed his campaign, but just to start a political rally in Ohio into a "storm relief event."

The storm has also affected the stock market. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for a second day on Tuesday, the first time that has happened because of weather since the snowstorm of 1888.

Not only wind, but fire also played havoc to destroy as many as 100 houses in a flooded beachfront neighborhood in Queens on Tuesday.

The hurricane also affected the Hospital services. New York University's Tisch Hospital evacuated 200 patients after its backup generator failed.

Joseph Lhota, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the damage was the worst in the 108-year history of the New York subway – reported ME TV.

But thanks to smart Police and fire officials’ attempt, which used boats and trucks to reach the trapped, normal life condition is expected to return soon.

Photo Courtesy - Yahoo News

Rig Veda on origin of the Universe

Written by - Mahesh Prasad Mishra

The Nasadiya Sukta (after the ná ásat "not the non-existent") also known as the Hymn of Creation is the 129th hymn of the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda (10:129). It is concerned with cosmology and the origin of the universe. The hymn has attracted a large body of literature of commentaries both in Indian theology and in Western philology. It begins by paradoxically

stating "not the non-existent existed, nor did the existent exist then" (ná ásat āsīt ná u sát āsīt tadânīm), paralleled in verse 2 by "then not death existed, nor the immortal" (ná mṛtyúḥ āsīt amŕtam ná tárhi).

But already in verse 2 mention is made that there was "breathing without breath, of its own nature, that one" ânīt avātám svadháyā tát ékam). In verse 3, being unfolds, "from meditation (tapas) was born that one" (tápasaḥ tát mahinâ ajāyata ékam). Verse 4 mentions desire (kāma) as the primal seed, and the first poet-seers (kavayas) who "found the bond of being within non-being with their heart's thought".

Brereton (1999) argues that the reference to the sages searching for being in their spirit is central, and that the hymn's gradual procession from non-being to being in fact re-enacts creation within the listener, equating poetic utterance and creation. The hymn is undoubtedly late within the Rigveda, and expresses thought more typical of later Indian philosophy. The hymn has been interpreted as one of the earliest accounts of skeptical inquiry and agnosticism. "The One" repeatedly discussed in the Rigveda has been suggested to have originally referred to the axis mundi, and "The One who dwells beyond the seven sages" (1.164) as the polar star (at the time perhaps Thuban).

The hymn that immediately follows (10.130) deals with the origin of sacrifice and refers to purus "a Man", identified with Prajāpati by Sāyana.The hymn contemplates that the first sacrifice was performed by humans who by that act were elevated to rishis, alluding to the mythical first sacrifice performed by the gods described in the Purusha Sukta (RV 10.90) verse 6:

So by this knowledge men were raised to rishis, when ancient sacrifice sprang up, our fathers. With the mind's eye I think that I behold them who first performed this sacrificial worship. The questions in verse 3, "What were the rule, the order and the model? What were the wooden fender and the butter?" refer back to the questions in 10.129 ("what was above it then, and what below it?" etc.)

( The writer is a researcher and resource person and a propagator of Hindu mythological doctrines, I have taken necessary permission to publish it here - Himanshu Guru, blogger) 

Rare Facts about Lord Jagannath

Written by -  Mahesh Prasad Mishra

Lord Jagannatha.

Five hundred years ago, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to live at Jagannatha Puri after taking sannyasa. He enjoyed many pastimes there worshipping the deities of Lord Jagannatha (Lord Krsna), Balarama and Subhadra, and dancing in ecstasy before the ratha yatra cart at the yearly festival in Puri. Five thousand years ago, Lord Krsna, with His elder brother Balarama and His younger sister Subhadra, once visited Kuruksetra in a chariot. Two thousand years later, King Indradyumna started the temple of Jagannatha in Orissa at Puri, and he wanted to establish a picture in the temple of Krishna, Subhadra, and Balarama coming to Kuruksetra in the chariot during solar eclipse.

He employed Visvakarma to carve them from wood, and made a contract with Visvakarma that the sculptor would do his work behind closed doors and the King should not disturb him. But the King, being very impatient to see, forcefully opened the door. Visvanatha stopped carving, but the king decided, "Never mind it is half finished. I shall install these deities in the temple." Since then, the three deities Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra are being worshiped in India at Jagannatha Puri.

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (118) it is said that King Indradyumna later took birth again in his own family as Maharaja Prataparudra, during the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Maharaja Prataparudra was as powerful as King Indra. He belonged to the dynasty of the Ganga king, his capital was in Cuttak, and he was the Emperor of Orissa and a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The drama named Caitanya-candrodaya was written under his direction.

( The writer is a researcher and resource person and a propagator of Hindu mythological doctrines, I have taken necessary permission to publish it here - Himanshu Guru, blogger) 

Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia bids adieu

Written by - Sanjeeb Panigrahi

Justice S.H.Kapadia,the Chief Justice of India on Friday bid adieu on his last working day at the Supreme Court as he is going to demit office today.

He is known to be an upright judge and have not missed office even for a day in his 20 years as a judge — not even when he fractured his leg. He had a nine-year stint in the Supreme Court, and more than two years as the CJI. 

Many things to be learnt from this great personality. We wish him good health and time .

(The writer is a friend of mine who happens to be a learned advocate practising at the Supreme Court of India - Himanshu Guru, blogger )

Nuakhai Bhetghat 2012 – Balangir – 3 Plays in 3 Languages

On the eve of ‘Nuakhai’, the most significant festival of Western Odisha, Natraj Kala Parishad of Balangir is going to organize ‘Ekta Natyotsava’, a multilingual drama exhibition show. Actually three plays in three different languages will be live performed in this event.

The three plays are – (1) ‘Garra’, a Koshali play written by Ashok Bohidar and will be performed by Dhiraj, Shree Radha, Arun, Nabghana, Prahallad, Rohita and Jyotiranjan, (2) ‘Ichhadhari Bagh’, a Hindi play written by Ashis Ku. Sonar and will be performed by Rama, Susmika, Surendra, Sushil, Swagat and Jyoti and (3) ‘Chala Ame Pahada Chadhiba’, an Odia play written by Dasharathi Mund and will be performed by Lalit, Satya, Sujit and Chaitali.

All these dramas will be performed one after one from 6 P.M. onwards on 22^nd September 2012 at Town Hall Balangir. It is a free show and all are invited.

All these three plays have been directed by one director, Mr. Prashant Khamari, an acclaimed theatre director of western Odisha who has been awarded several times at different drama competitions in national and state level. Khamari is best known for his creative concepts and applications, of theatre tactics since his college days.

Khamari said to the blogger (Himanshu Guru), “ This is perhaps for the first time in the country that we are doing three plays in three languages in three hours, organized by one forum ‘Nataraj Kala Parishad’ and directed by one director i.e. me (Prashant Khamari). Earlier also we had appeared with new concepts such as ‘Koshali Apera’. Hope the audience will appreciate our effort”.

Music Director Dilip Mishra is No More

Music Director & Singer from Balangir, Odisha Late Dilip Mishra

Talented young music director from Balangir Dilip Mishra passed away on 11^th September 2012 at 4 A.M. (IST) early in the morning at his ‘Kabi Kutir’ residence in Talpali Pada of Balangir, in Odisha, India.

Profile of Mishra may not be very strong as he has not directed either a Hindi or even an Odiya film, but this is a fact that his talent was not less than any music biggie of the silver screen. Truth can be ascertained from the large number of people who were personally attached to him.

Mishra initiated his professional music career as the keyboard player of ‘Melody Makers’, the age old and elite band from Balangir, but soon promoted to the post of director thanks to his talent while age-wise he was quiet junior; in a place like Balangir age factor concerns at many a places. He then also started to sing and during his early days as a singer he had earned much popularity for his outstanding performances of the song ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ (originally sung by A.R. Rehman) and ‘Zee jee’.

Teaser Poster of a Musical Programme performed
on 2nd October 2012 in memory of late Dilip Mishra

The stunning stage performance created a market for him and he was then invited by Balangir’s Music Mentors like Shankar Pradhan and others. In every live concert Dilip was wanted and he became star. Eventually he joined the ‘Do re mi’ club of Sambalpur and performed at a huge number of concerts both inside and out of the state.

By the passage of time Mishra also tried his luck in Ollywood but could not sustain there either for some reasons unknown or due to his much affection for Balangir and his paternal family. Anyway, the hope of achieving something in Ollywood also wound up.

Stage show in memory of late Dilip Mishra at Maitri Mahal, Hatpada, Balangir, Odisha

However, he also composed music for a Hindi serial named ‘Yadon ke Fasle’, aired on National television and composed some classics for All India Radio, Balangir. All these compositions of Dilip are still broadcast from AIR and perhaps those are the golden collection at Balangir radio station. He has created many music stars that were happens to be his music students. In the last days of his life, he was composing music for Bhawanipatna Doordarshan.

Among the hits of his radio songs, one (Odia) number, ‘Aago dura pahada pachhara, asta suryara arunima, muje chala pathe thakaa batoi te, aakhire chumichhi tuma simaa’ seems to be the most popular one that was composed and arranged by Dilip Mishra, sang by Himanshu Guru (me) and lyrics was penned by Malaya Mishra.

In the first interlude of this song perhaps Dilip had revealed about his destiny which says, “Aau tike pare andhaara hele, baata ghaata kichhin dishibani, tame bi mo laagi leutibaa bata, dekhi chaahin aau rahibani” which means - within a short span, darkness will cover the earth and nothing will be visible including the path to proceed. You even will not wait for me then and I will be all alone to move in the darkness. Now I believe big people predict their future in their works.

Besides live concerts and music composition for radio and TV serial, he has also composed some sambalpuri albums including ‘Dil Dukaan’.

Many singers of Odisha including some renowned one like Ira Mohanty, Tapu Mishra and T. Shourie from Ollywood and Babloo, Himanshu Guru, Kunaa, Rajendra and a lot more from Balangir have sung compositions of Mishra.

As a singer Dilip was gifted enough to sing in high notes, which even could not be attempted by others and he was unique for thee.

Late Dilip Mishra (with Keyboard) with Himanshu Guru (with Guitar)

Music world of Balangir may not be a popular and cherished industry like Bollywood or even Ollywood, but it has its originality and glory, which cannot be ignored. Soil of Balangir has produced legends like late Chittaranjan Sahani, who had also trained music to Sadhna Sargam for a short span, Sniti Mishra, who had created buzz in the Musical reality show ‘Sa re ga ma pa’ in Zee TV, late Saroj Nanda, who had directed Bollywood Singers like Anuradha Paudwal and introduced his own school/style and had given a new direction to Odia music, at a time when gradually people had started rejecting the same for the all ‘ghisa pitaa’ styles, for which artists from both western and Eastern Odisha salutes him. There are certain other big names which cannot be provided within the geography of this article.

Dilip Mishra was of course a star of Balangir Musical arena. People from every altitude of the society had great likeness for him, for his talent. Besides music, he was also a good cricket player. Dilip breathed his last in the presence of his wife, daughter and mother. He was the youngest son of late Chakradhar Mishra and younger brother of late politician Gangadhar Mishra.

Today Dilip (as he had preferred to write Dilip as his name, not Dillip, so I am writing Dilip) is not physically present with us, but his compositions and songs will keep him alive and he will be around us on lieu of his musical works for ever. 

Good Bye Dilip. May your soul rest in peace. You might have finished your worldly life, but Odisha and Balangir’s Music world will always miss you and remember that once upon a time there was a Music legend in Balangir named Dilip Mishra.

Leprosy Colony Observed Maiden Teacher’s Day with ChildSmile in Balangir

Keeping the noble thought of ‘Service to Mankind Is Service to God’, CHILD SMILE NGO from Balangir this time earned acclamation as it celebrated the teacher’s day amongst the lepers.

Extending a hand of support and to convey a message of care to the leprosy patients, CHILD SMILE celebrated the Teacher’s Day yesterday on 5^th September 2012 among the lepers at the Leprosy Colony School, Puintala in Balangir of Odisha. 

While lepers are commonly looked down upon in the society by practice, the group’s splendid attempt has been praised.

Among the distinguished guest, the Chief Guest of the function Mr.Damodar Mishra, Chairman of District C.W.C. (Child Welfare Committee) Balangir, articulated his respect to Dr. Sarveplli Radha Krishnan, the second President of India whose birthday is celebrated as the Teacher’s day in India and recounted his achievements and ideal steps.

Radhakrishnan had uplifted the nuance of education to the zenith during his government in the country, for which he is revered. Mishra lighted the candle and depicted about the value of teacher in our life.

Chief Speaker social activist Mr.Gagarba Meher ed about the value of knowledge and right to education to the lepers which can be earned by any person of the society without distinction.

Guest of Honor Mr. Rajkumar Das, coordinator of Lepra Health in Action, Balangir described children as the future citizens; for which they should be provided with proper ingredients to prosper.

Ms Dipti Mayee Nanda, chief functionary of CHILD SMILE conducted different participatory activities related to “Right to Education” among the children for their sound understanding. Around 30 students and their all family members attended the program.

CHILD SMILE also honored two volunteers of Leprosy Colony Mrs. Jayanti Sahu and Mrs. Sabya Chouhan for their perseverance   towards the development of students of Leprosy Colony School, Balangir. 

Mr.Bibhuti Bhusan Bhoi of CHILD SMILE proposed the vote of thanks to all the participants at the end.

Mr. Sanjeeb Chhatria, Mrs. Jyotirmayee Nayak, Mrs.Kalpana Nag, Mr. Naresh Pradhan, Mr. Subir Bag,Mr.D.Jhon and Mr.Rajesh Saha helped organize the program.

There is an Upper Primary School providing education in the Leprosy Colony where a single teacher is teaching as a salaried full time teacher, and two women from the colony are imparting education honorary without any remuneration.

Happy Teacher's Day 2012

Happy Teacher's Day 2012.

Our heartfelt tribute to the teachers, the maker of life and nation.

Birthday of former President of India Sarbapalli Radhakrishna, who happens to be a top educator, is celebrated as the teacher's day in India on 5th September each year. We celebrate to pay homage to all the teachers those who have trained and taught us in our early days. The national function is celebrated across the country in all the schools and colleges. 

Golden Jubilee of Press Club Balangir, Odisha, India

Balangir Constituency M.P. Kalikesh N. Singdeo (4th from left), Gopal Mohapatra, Chief Editor, The Samaj (3rd from left),  Gopabandhu Satapathy, Press Club Secretary (1st from right) at the Golden Jubilee Celebration in Balangir on 30th August 2012

Satya Sai Baba Picture emitting 'Bhibhuti'

God man Satya Sai Baba is distinguished for his miracles. Earlier, during his life time also unbelievable acts related to Baba have been witnessed in many instances. Modern community demands scientific proof of everything to believe. But devotees merely trust their faith about their adorable God or sometimes God man and many of them have depicted several stories of their achievement in this materialistic world thanks to blessings of Baba.

In this nexus, devotees of Satya Sai Baba will be overwhelmed to know that a glass framed large size image of Baba is emitting ‘Bibhuti’, the sacred powder. ‘Bibhuti’ is accepted as blessings of the God man.  In a village of western Odisha called ‘Banjari’ that comes under Patnagarh Tehsil of Balangir District in Odisha, India.

The process was first witnessed on 18^th August 2012 and is still on till I write this blog. However, I cannot say till how much this supernatural phenomenon will go on. The village is 6 km away from Patnagarh on the way towards Harishankar, the famous picnic spot of Odisha, and around 50 km away from the district head quarter Balangir. The village can be approached only by roadway. The nearest railway stations are at a distance of around 50 km in Balangir in the east and approximately the same distance in Kantabanji in the west.

Many people may not believe the spiritual and incredible phenomenon, but it is very much true and we have confirmed it from a lot of eye witnesses to the happening. (One can see it in the given picture, however the image quality is not good, but one can very well see that the sacred power is oozing out of the chest part of Baba in the glass framed photo kept on a chair) 

Devotees from far and wide are flocking to the village to witness the amazing occurrence and to receive blessings from Sai Baba, who has conveyed the message of his practical presence their though the super natural act. Sai Baba completed his worldly life on Sunday, 24 April 2011 at 7:40 IST and passed away at the age of 85, but he is still present amongst his devotees.

The process was first witnessed on 18^th August 2012 and is still on till I write this blog. However, I cannot say till how much this supernatural phenomenon will go on. The village is 6 km away from Patnagarh on the way towards Harishankar, the famous picnic spot of Odisha, and around 50 km away from the district head quarter Balangir. The village can be approached only by roadway. The nearest railway stations are at a distance of around 50 km in Balangir in the east and approximately the same distance in Kantabanji in the west.

Odia Laborers rescued in Medhak, Andhra Pradesh

At least 43 dalit people including 18 children have been rescued from the Medhak district in Andhraprdesh by Social worker Umi Daniel and his team yesterday on 28^th August 2012. They had been kept in bondage in a worksite for several years.

Out of the captives, the family in the picture had been kept under bondage for past 22 years. During these years, they had been allowed to visit their native village Turekela in Bolangir district of Odisha, only for once, while his family members were kept back by the landlord.

Four people were working for the landlord there in his farm and brick kiln with a minimal  salary of Rs. 2000 per month. R. Prakash, SP of Bolangir and Avinash Mohanty, SP of Medhak district, AP had extended their best assistance in rescuing these poor and helpless people. Criminal cases have already been instituted against the landlord in this connection. 

Odia Film Actor Ratan Meher

Odia Film Actor Ratan Meher with Himanshu Guru