Pandit Nilakantha Das Jayanti Celebrated in Satyabadi
Sakhigopal – 05.08.2024 (Singhari Alok Khuntia):
The 140th birth anniversary celebration of Pandit Nilakantha Das, a pride and glory of the Odia community, was held in grand fashion at Shriramchandrapur in sacred Satyabadi. The event was organized with the joint support of the Odisha Sahitya Akademi and Acharya Harihara Yuva Parishad.
Poets and poetesses from various regions of Odisha participated in the event, discussing the life of Pandit Nilakantha, his contribution to the Odia language, his efforts to eradicate casteism, and his literary works like the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and his contributions to journalism.
Under the presidency of Satyabadi Das, the Jayanti celebration featured Prof. Prasanna Kumar Swain, Vice Chancellor of the Odia Language, Literature and Culture University, as the Chief Guest. Renowned literary figure Gyan Ranjan Panda was the keynote speaker, and literary personality Pratima Rani Mishra participated as a distinguished guest, highlighting Pandit Nilakantha’s immense contribution to the Odia community.
The event began with a poet’s gathering organized by Vandana Sahitya Sansad, where over 50 poets including Abhimanyu Rayaguru and Sukanti Ojha from Kandhamal recited poems dedicated to Pandit Nilakantha.
Two books—Vandana edited by Rabindranath Shadangi and Shraddha Saswati by poet Ratnakar Jena—were unveiled during the program. The book release ceremony was graced by guests such as Bijay Pattnaik, Professor Brundaban Chandra Rath, retired Professor Geetanjali Mahapatra, Manjushree Mishra, Dibyalochan Bharimal, and Sadhu Charan Behera.
Prizes were distributed to students who had won competitions held earlier in connection with the event. The entire program was coordinated by Rabindranath Shadangi, Pramod Kumar Nanda, Prabhakar Tripathi, and Manas Tripathi, with members of the Acharya Harihara Yuva Parishad assisting throughout.
