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,” said Professor Kharavela Mohanty, a prominent historian and scholar from Odisha, while participating in the third anniversary of the Dhenkanal Heritage Walks (DHW) here on Sunday.
Addressing the gathering, retired bureaucrat and history researcher Tapan Kumar Satapathy highlighted the naming of Dhenkanal and development of Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava and Mahami cults in this land and said Dhenkanal is a sweet combination of Dravidian and Aryan culture.
Presiding over the event convener of Cuttack Heritage Walks (CHW) Deepak Samantarai said 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 address and annual report, Smitali Sahu coordinated the programme. 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.