25 Years Of Mother's Public School

Mother’s Public School, one of the        oldest schools in Bhubaneswar, Odisha celebrated its Silver Jubilee - 25 years of service to the children of the community. For last few months, from July to December, various events were held to celebrate this landmark in the journey of the school, its students and parents.

The Silver Jubilee Logo, school merchandise and a commemorative postage stamp with special cover were inaugurated on July 17, 2017. Various events and inter school competitions were held which included School Cinema Screening, Inter-school Short Play competition, Inter-school Quiz competition, Inter-school Science Exhibition and Inter-school Rock Band competitions. Students from Schools all over Bhubaneswar participated in the events. Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed, Managing Director, Edumedia India and the founder of School Cinema visited the school and interacted with the students. He also judged the entries for an inter-school short movie competition in which several schools from all over the country participated.

The Entrepreneurship Project Competition which was held on Nov 8 last year was judged by Mr. Jayanarayan Pujapanda, founder of Paris Bakery and Mr. Nilamadhav Panda of Synergy Medicare (Health) Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Subrato Bagchi presided as the Chief Guest and delivered a motivating speech to the students.

A three day closing ceremony culminated with a grand evening on the December 23, 2017, which was witness by His Excellency Mr. S.C Jamir, the Governor of Odisha, as the chief guest, along with other renowned dignitaries. A coffee table book, chronicling the school’s journey, was released. Mr. S.C Jamir expressed his gratitude by appreciating the enthusiasm of all the students who participated in every competition and congratulated the school for completing 25 years.

CUO celebrates National Youth Day-2018 and Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

Central University of Orissa celebrated birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the founder of modern India as National Youth Day or Yuva Divas and organized a befitting programme at its Sunabeda campus today.

                            

Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, inaugurated the programme and urged the youth to be united and dedicated themselves for nation building. Prof. Bhabani Prasad Rath, OSD, Examination, Admin. & Students affairs delivered the welcome address.

Prof. Rath pointed out that Swami Vivekananda redefined Hinduism in a broad sense on the global platform at Chicago on 1893. He advised the young students of the University to follow the teaching of Swami Vivekananda.

Prof. Mohanty, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor outlined the journey of Swami Vivekananda for the famous Chicago speech at Parliament of World’s Religion on 1893. He stated that Swami Vivekananda was a real hero. He added that “Today we are at unheroic age, the world itself has deromanticized. In this era, our youth must be frank, upright and honorable. A new India is waiting to be born with the youth, who follows the path shown by Swami Vivekananda. We must have global vision and local action”. He also talked about the four takeaways given by Swami Vivekananda such as notion of the self, the concept of nation, the idea of religion and concept of the world. He advised the students to be a better citizen of this great country and to be united and motivated to build our collective future.

Sushree Mercy Mousmi Takri, compeered the programme. Dr. Phagunath Bhoi, PRO, gave the vote of thanks. Students, Faculty and staff were present in at large on this occasion. The programme was organized by the Public Relations section of the University.

Lalchand Jewellers' TVC launched

Eastern India’s largest jewellery showroom,Lalchnd Jewellers’,have come out with a TVC which celebrates the spirit of Odia woman and Odishan festivals in all royal style and grandeur. The latest filmis directed by Mumbai based AD Film Director Anand Oberoi.

The ad film showcases the tradition and culture of Odisha in the film. Its well-known that LalchndJewellers takes inspiration from the diverse and profound culture & beauty of Odisha and its people. The film is a tribute the ideal Odia Woman. The beauty of the Ideal Odia Woman is enhanced manifold by the exquisite and pure jewellery made by LalchndJewellers making her feel like a Queen.

Speaking about the film,Sunjoy Hans, Founder Chairman- LalchndJewellers said, “When it comes to any celebratory occasion, people have always put their trust in Lalchnd. This trust has propelled Lalchnd to become Eastern India’s top jewellery brand. To celebrate this trust and their belief, we decided to come up with this new TVC.”

AnandOberoi proudly said, “

The TVC will be initially aired on television and cinema theatres followed by digital, outdoor and print campaigns.

Inaguration Ceremony of Gurukul Resorts(Tennis Resort)

                                                                     

   Gurukul Resorts, the first Lawn Tennis  based resort in the country was  inaugurated by Shri MadhusudanPadhi IAS, Secretary Odisha Tennis Association & Transport Commissioner, Govt. of Odisha on 27th of December 2017 at Mendhasal. The resort, a dream project for one of the most leading tennis players from the state and also the first ever ATP Player from Odisha, Chinmay Pradhan, is located on the outskirts of the capital city in Mendhasal village, 12 kms away from Bhubaneswar.

Spread over an area of 1.45 acres and well planted with lovely coconut and mango trees with a little pond around the corner adding to its beauty, the resort has three fenced International standard tennis courts with floodlights, 10 cottage rooms, restaurant, cafeteria, open gym and a sitting gallery attached to it.  Chinmay Pradhan, who is also the proprietor of the project, has also received support from his coach, Santosh Kumar Mallick who is also a well-known name in Odisha Tennis, for the project.

The idea behind setting up the resort is to develop Odisha as a National Tennis Hub for development of tennis in the state in the days to come.  Lawn Tennis is an individual game in which the players come for the tournaments (ITF Futures international or AITA National), which ae ranking tournaments.

Players participate in these tournaments for ranking points and they also bear all their expenses including lodging and boarding for such tournaments. In India many tournaments are continuously conducted in different states but at different locations which makes it difficult for the players as they don’t get accommodation facilities at the venue, most of the times. Often, they have to put up at places, which are fare away from the venue. Such a problem not only increases the expenses for the players but also makes it hectic for them. Gurukul Resorts, will therefore, ensure to cater to all the essential needs of a player participant at a very reasonable price.

Since Mendhasal has already witnessed national level tennis tournaments earlier, it will serve as the perfect location for the first tennis-based resort in the state and the country. Interestingly, many young children from the village who had never heard of a sport called tennis have already performed exceedingly well at state level tournaments under the guidance of coach Santosh Kumar Mallick and inspired by their idol Chinmay Pradhan.

Five such kids from the village were also felicitated by the Chief Guest for their commendable performance during the event, which was graced by many ATP Pro Circuit professionals and National Champions all across the country. Extremely pleased with the initiative, Shri MadhusudanPadhi said the the resort will be a milestone in the development of tennis in Odisha as it will give players, especially those from Odisha, a chance to participate in more numbers of AITA tournaments which will help in the overall development of the game.

Chinmay Pradhan said the basic problem in India is lack of ITF and Pro Circuit tournaments and if Indians get enough of these tournaments like the European players, they too can do very well in the international circuit. “Gurukul Resortsis just the beginning of my vision and I dream of conducting continuous International Tennis Tournaments here just like the way it happens across successful resorts in Spain, Egypt and Turkey.”

Media Excellence Award held in Bhubaneswar

In a bid to recognise the growing importance of work being done by print, broadcast (television and radio) and online news services and honour media professionals for their outstanding contributions in these fields, Media@Change, a forum of, by and for media professionals in Odisha, would be giving away the ‘Media Excellence Awards’. The first edition of this award ceremony was held on December 15 at Hotel Swosti Premium.

The Awards has made a humble attempt to recognise and appreciate pioneering work of media professionals who demonstrate a passionate commitment in advancing quality journalism and promoting free and fair flow of news and exchange of opinions. The idea is to encourage working journalists and media practitioners to continue being committed to high standards in their profession.

Supported by an advisory board of eminent media professionals, PNV Foundation has facilitated formation of the forum, Media@Change, to help conduct the award ceremony every year. The forum also plans to pursue activities dedicated towards development of media in Odisha.

The Media Excellence Awards was chosen by a jury comprising eminent media persons, academicians and distinguished citizens.

The awards were given away to SibaMohanty for Best Reporter (English), SandipPani for Best Reporter (Odia), Sanjib Das for Best Photo Journalist, Himanshu Guru for Best Feature Writer (English), RanjanRath for Best Feature (Odia) and Utkal G. Nanda for Best Cartoonist/Illustrator for categories in Print Media.

Similarly, Ajit Singh for Best Reporter, SitamMoharana for Best Video Journalist, Bhabani Shankar Mohapatra for Best Anchor (Male) and GayatriMohanty for Best Anchor (Female)for categories in electronic media. BasudevMahapatra received the Best Web Journalist award. Sangram Mishra received the Best Radio Jockey Award.That apart, two special awards- Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given away to Sarat Mishra, while SubhraPriyadarshini received theOutstanding Journalism (atNational/International Level)

The award distribution ceremony was preceded by a quiz for media students and a conclave. The theme of the conclave was “Muzzling the Media and the Future of Journalism.” Dr.Damodar Rout, Honourable Minister, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Mr. Prasad Harichandan, President, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr. SoumyaRanjan Patnaik, Founder-Chairman, Eastern Media Limited, Mr. Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Senior BJP Leader and Mr. Kharabela Swain, President, Utkal Bharat were the speakers at the conclave.

Mahurat of Odia film 'Natkhat Romeo' held

The mahurat of upcoming odia film Natkhat Romeo was held recently at the Bhimeshwar temple in Bhubaneswar amid presence of cast and crews of the film. 

The film stars debutants Roshan and Lipika in the  lead roles and also stars Ollywood veterans like Mihir Das, Salil Mitra, Partibha Panda, Pintu Nanda, Bikash Nayak as well as Manisha Mishra and Pragyan.

Produced under the banner Baba Jhadeswar Movies, the film has been produced by Sibanarayan Nanda. Story, screnplay and direction will be by Ratnakar Sahoo while Pradeed Sahoo will be the cameraman. The film will be edited by Ranjan Khatei and music will be by Baidyanath Dash. The dialouges will be by AJ Sriram and publicity will be by Deepak.

Talking to News and Features the producer intimated that he will produced films one after one.

Distress Migration and Trafficking Workshop

With May Day right round the corner, a workshop on policy and data was organised by Antodaya and Action Group on Bonded Labour. It was held at the Presidency Hotel in Bhubaneshwar on April 26, 2017.

The panel consisted of Dillip Das, Chairman of Antodaya, Umi Daniel, Regional Head – Migration, Aide-et-Action and AnujaNaik, International Justice Mission.

Mr Das introduced the concept of distress migration and bonded labour and the challenges faced by those working on the issue. Bonded labour survivor Dialu shared his experience, talking about the abuse that he faced in 2013, including how his right hand was chopped off by traffickers.

“The grievance redressal mechanism of NREGA has failed in Odisha as there is no ombudsman in 24 districts for the last five years. This is affecting the employment opportunities leading to distress migration,” said Mr Das. He added, “The rehabilitation of identified bonded labour in the state of Odisha is not yet addressed despite the direction of the NHRC.”

It is extremely important that the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016, that was supposed to be introduced in Parliament in the winter session, is passed in Parliament so that there are systems in place to safeguard migration and prevent labour trafficking. The Bill includes critical aspects of time bound and effective procedures for identification, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims and prosecution of offenders.

It was also stressed that the new rehabilitation scheme for bonded labourers that came into effect in May 2016 needs to implement effectively. There are certain gaps in the scheme that require effective and strongly monitored implementation. Linking of rehabilitation money to the prosecution of the offender will put the victim in a very vulnerable position. Therefore, there is a need to delink these components, create corpus funds and more.

She added that the rehabilitation scheme for bonded labourers that came into effect in May 2016 needs to implement effectively.

Mr Daniel stressed on the need for rehabilitation.  ‘The number of migrants is increasing and so this is vulnerability. The system needs to be a bit more proactive in providing them more support on the issue of rehabilitation. Bonded labourers are really suffering, as they are not getting the rehabilitation money due to them within the stipulated time period. There should be more livelihood options provided to the labourers during the lean period, which is when most of the distress migration occurs,” he said.