Jagatsinghpur, one of the most literate districts of Odisha and the birthplace of Adikabi Sarala Das, the 15th-century poet-scholar and a foundational figure in Odia literature, is home to many talented individuals from several fields. So while celebrating the first anniversary of the Jagatsinghpur Heritage Walks (JHW) on Monday, the organisers aptly decided to felicitate people who are ‘living heritages’ from among the masses and are contributing towards the popularisation and awareness of the heritage of Jagatsinghpur and, above all, for the betterment of society and humankind.
Sagarbala Patnaik (76), popularly known as “Basanti Apa” and a daughter of Jagatsinghpur, who acted in hundreds of plays in the renowned Annapurna Theatre Group (Annapurna Rangamancha) in Cuttack during the Sixties, would perhaps be the most celebrated dignitary on the occasion, whose present life story is no less a film script in its own right.
As every bit of Jagatsinghpur is connected to the divine blessings of Maa Sarala, the team of Mihir Nana and his team were felicitated for preserving the “Ghanta Patua” dance tradition of Goddess Sarala in Odisha and elsewhere, including foreign lands. Their on-stage presentation of the traditional “Ghanta Patua” style imbued the session with a pure and unique divine bliss.
In a unique gesture of recognition, Shyam Chacha, a well-known Muslim devotee of Lord Jagannath and known as “present-day Salabega” (a famous devotional poet and one of the greatest devotees of the Trinity in the past), and Sheikh Sahil Mohammad, a son of the soil and ardent lover of Odissi dance, were also felicitated. Mohammad also performed “Mangalacharan” on stage and displayed his art amid applause from the audience.
Among others felicitated by the JHW members were Shishir Kumar Panda, president of “Kala Sanskruti Sangh” in the Tirtol block of Jagatsinghpur district, who has been performing for over five decades and has been preserving ancient art forms, and Hemant Kumar Raut for preserving the ancient folk art and dance form “Ghoda Nacha” in today’s modern era.
The JHW members felicitated the Handloom Society of Badabag village near Jagatsinghpur town, as generations of weavers have been supplying handloom products to the locality and beyond. Kundan Kumar Paswan, a youth who works to rescue and conserve snakes across Jagatsinghpur and elsewhere as a member of the Snake Helpline, was also felicitated.