Dhenkanal: “Our history is the basis of the development of a civilization and its vast wealth. The huge cultural flow that has been created through our monasteries, temples, forts, food, clothes, culture, is on the verge of extinction due to today’s extreme modernity. If we won’t keep history in our minds, one day everything will be taken away from us,” said Professor Kharavela Mohanty, a prominent historian and scholar from Odisha, while participating in the third anniversary of the Dhenkanal Heritage Walks (DHW), here, yesterday.
In this ceremony held at Surya Mandap in the heart of the heritage town under the chairmanship of the convener of the Cuttack Heritage Walks (CHW), Deepak Samantarai, Tapan Kumar Satapathy, retired bureaucrat and history researcher highlighted the naming of Dhenkanal and the development of Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava and Mahami cults in this land and expressed his opinion that Dhenkanal is a sweet combination of Dravidian and Aryan culture.
Presiding over the event Deepak Samantarai said in his speech that the more the heritage walks are promoted, the more the passion of the society will be spread. On this occasion, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Baripada Heritage Walks were felicitated as “Aithihya Sarathi”, while veteran Odissi Dance Guru Sudhakar Sahu and veteran Paika Martial Art Guru Harihar Sahu were felicitated as “Aithyha Shri”.
Similarly, the guests also felicitated members of the heritage village of puppetry Raidihi, village of brass utensils Indipur, and the village of Dokra handicraft, Sadeibereni.
While DHW convenor, Suresh Prasad Mishra presented the welcome speech and annual report, Smitali Sahu coordinated the stage. At the beginning of the festival a puppetry show was performed by traditional artists from Raidihi village, which enchanted the audience. An exhibition of Dokra handicrafts and Indipur’s brass utensils was also held near the venue. More than 160 participants joined from all across Odisha for the third annual event of the DHW.