Several seminars were organized during OSA 2004 convention. Prof. Rabi Narayan Mahapatra had a well planned agenda and schedule for all of the following seminars.

• Spiritual Discourse by Swamiji & Bhajan, Saturday and Sunday, 7:00 am – 8:00 am, Earnings Room
• Economic Development Seminar, Saturday 8:00 am – 9:45 am, Dividends Room
• Kabita Patha, Saturday 8:00 am – 9:45 am, Earnings Room
• Youth Professional Seminar, Saturday 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Mergers Room
• Biotech Seminar, Saturday 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm, Dividends Room
• Parenting Challenges; Saturday 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Equity Room
• Bhanja Sahitya Alochana by Dr. Kabi Mishra, Sunday 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Earnings Room
• Documentary Film Screening on Fakir Mohan Senapati, Sunday 8:00 am – 9:45 am, Dividends Room
• Oriya Volunteers of North America, Sunday 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, Dividends Room
• Health and Physical Therapy Seminar, Sunday 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, Mergers Room

Many seminars were organized as planned. However, because of the parallel sessions, some of the seminars had very low attendance and some could not be held. We have the reports available for some of these seminars. I would bring your attention to Mrs Mamata Misra's comments about the reasons why some seminars do not become successful as planned.

Odia Poetry Reading was held in Earnings room on Saturday at 8:00 AM. The table was decorated with Oriya symbols, sambalpuri sarees, filigree items and pipili handicraft work. Dr Arati Nanda delivered the welcome speech. In her speech she expressed her dream about publishing a complete Oriya magazine from USA. Eminent poet Amarendra Khatua was introduced by Dr Bigyani Das to give the keynote address. 

The poetry reading started with Gangadhar Meher's "Matrubhumi", read by Dhirendra Kar. IFS Amarendra Khatua read his poem on Orissa. Arati Nanda, Sikhanda Satapathy and Bigyani Das took turns in introducing different poets. All the poems were touchy and inspiring. Kalpanamayee Dash's "Maa", Sumitra Padhi's "Kharabela", and Barun Pani's "Panthasala" were full of feelings that had transformed into words. Bigyani Das's "Abiskara" and Arati Nanda's "Jagare Utkaliya" were full of Oriya feelings. Digambar Mishra's romantic short poems "Cuttack" and "Prema" were very enjoyable.

After the adult's poetry reading, gifts were presented to the key-note speaker Amarendra Khatua. The children's poetry reading started after that. Ananya Mishra's "Night", Bagmi Das's "Choices", Mrunali Das's "What My Mind Says", Rohini Rege's "Dia, The Shining Lamp" and Renuka Rege's "Discovery" gave the audience an opportunity to explore the sentiments of young minds. The children were presented with certificates by Amarendra Khatua. Finally Dr Sikhanda Satapathy thanked the participants for their contribution in making the poetry reading session the most enjoyable one.

Dr. Ranjan Patnaik, a talented young scientist, provided a general introduction to biotech and why Orissa is a good destination for biotech related investment. Then Dr. Sujay Singh, an outstanding researcher and entrepreneur, discussed the prospects of biotech related ventures in Orissa and problems faced by NRO entrepreneurs in this sector. Shri Sahadeva Sahoo, a veteran administrator and educationist, discussed his vision of the future of biotech in Orissa and how the NRO center in Bhubaneswar can help entrepreneurs.

About The Panelists

Dr. Ranjan Patnaik leads the fermentation technology group in the Central Research & Development (CR&D) division of DuPont. He has worked in the biotechnology sector for the last 15 years in various capacities in companies such as Genentech, Energy Biosystems, Maxygen, and Codexis. Dr. Patnaik's research in the areas of metabolic engineering, bioprocess development for commodity chemical production, and renewable feedstock utilization has led to numerous publications, citations, and seminars in international conferences. He was an invited participant to the Frontiers of Engineering Symposium 2000 (FOE) and Japan-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium 2002 (JAFOE), hosted by the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and Japan Science & Technology Agency. U.S. Frontiers of Engineering meeting brings together 100 of the nation's outstanding young engineers (ages 30-45) from industry, academia, and government to discuss pioneering technical and leading-edge research in various engineering fields and industry sectors. Dr. Patnaik holds a Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University, College Station and a B.Tech degree from IIT, Kanpur, both in Chemical Engineering. He currently resides in Newark, Delaware with his wife Madhu and daughter Natasha.

Shri Sahadeva Sahoo holds the position of the Chancellor of Supreme University, Raipur. Immediately following his postgraduation he was a lecturer in International Affairs in the Benares Hindu University and a Pradhyapak in Public Administration in the Viswabharati (University), Santiniketan. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1964 and held various key positions under the Governments of Orissa and India, including Chief Secretary to the Government of Orissa and Chairman of the state's Industrial Promotion and Investment Corpration Ltd. (IPICOL). On voluntary retirement from the I.A.S., he became the Vice Chancellor of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) from November 2000 to October 2003, during which he was instrumental in setting up its Post Graduate course in Biotechnology along with its biotech research unit. During this time he was conferred by the President of India a rare honor of Honorary Colonel Commandant of NCC. 

Shri Sahoo is a prolific author with 40 books to his credit on diverse topics which include current affairs, statecraft, travelogue, popular science, poetry, short stories, intelligence tests and children's stories. He is also a regular contributor to various newspapers and journals in Orissa. He is one of the few most sought-after persons in literary and cultural circles in Orissa. He has to his credit several literary awards including the Orissa Sahitya Academy award and the Sarala Samman. He is an internationally known philatelist and is now the President of the Philatelic Congress of India, the apex body of stamp collectors in India. He has been invited as India's National Commissioner for the International Stamp Exhibition, WASHINGTON 2006. He also serves as the joint coordinator of the Non Resident Oriya center in Bhubaneswar.

Dr. Sujay K. Singh is the President and CEO of IMGENEX Corporation based in San Diego, California. He has over 25 years experience in designing and conducting biomedical research, and has authored numerous publications in this area. He is a graduate of the Berhampur University, Orissa, where he received an M.Sc. in Zoology. He conducted his doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Jan Klein at the Max-Planck Institute of Immunogenetics of the University of Tuebingen, Germany. Following his graduation with a Ph.D. in immunogenetics, Dr. Singh continued his studies in molecular biology and immunology as a post-doctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, as a Research Instructor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, as a visiting scientist at the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany, and as an Assistant Professor at the Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX.

In 1992, Dr. Singh joined PharMingen in San Diego, CA, as Director of Cell Biology, where he directed teams conducting research and development of novel reagents. In 1997, he formed IMGENEX Corporation (www.imgenex.com), with a goal to develop and commercialize necessary reagents, including a battery of specialty antibodies, which are used by researchers in the growing field of functional genomics. Under his guidance IMGENEX has grown into a company with active research programs in immunology and genomics, and has commercialized over 700 novel research reagents.

In October 2001, Dr. Singh founded IMGENEX India (pvt) Ltd in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. It is the first biotechnology company in Orissa to develop products, which are used in the emerging fields of genomics and proteomics. At the end of 2004, IMGENEX India will relocate to a state-of-the-art 20,000-sqft facility located in Infocity, Bhubaneswar. IMGENEX India scientists will use the latest technology to produce monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, synthetic peptides, and recombinant proteins, which will be sold worldwide to facilitate genomics and proteomics research. Using local talents and recruiting scientists from other parts of India, IMGENEX India aspires to be a world-class biotechnology company.

The Health & Physical Therapy Seminar

Dear Ms. Das,

The health & Physical therapy seminar was held on Sunday, July 4, 2004 in Equity room 2. There were a total of three speakers in this seminar.  I was the first speakers in Health & Physical therapy seminar at OSA convention this year. I am a practicing Occupational Therapist In Imperial, CA. I spoke on the topic ' Therapeutic Exercise and Women's Health. I made an effort to create some general awareness about role of therapeutic exercise in some common women related health conditions like Pregnancy & postpartum period, Osteoporosis in menopausal women, Urinary incontinence, Arthritis and last but not the least Low Back Pain.  I also discussed about specific exercises suggested for those health conditions. Besides exercises other form of treatments administered by therapists to manage pain, provision of various kinds of braces, positioning devices and assisting equipments to help patients carryout their daily activities were discussed. The conclusion was therapeutic exercise not only helps us during disease conditions; but also helps us maintaining our general health. I hope the above information regarding my speech will meet your requirement.

The second speaker Swapnila Das,  A practicing Psychologist spoke on childhood & adolescent emotional disorder. She discussed about Autistic behaviour, ADHD, learning disorders, anxiety disorders etc.; their causes and remedies. Third speaker Pradipta ku. Sahu discussed elaborately about various workplace related hand injury/ disorders which included Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tennis Elbow, DeQuervan's disease, Thumb basal joint Arthritis etc. He also preventive & Therapeutic management of all those conditions. Mr. Sahu is a practicing Occupational Therapist & a certified hand therapist in Texarkana ,TX. At the last moment a visitor from Orissa  Mr. P.C. Mishra was allowed some time to speak about medicinal &therapeutic effect of "RUDRAKSHA". He has done some independent studies about it in Orissa. We had some Q/A sessions after each discussion. The number of participating audience was low as there were other seminars especially DR. Kabi Prasad Mishra's speech on Upendra Bhanja was going on at the same time. All the credit goes to Mr. Kailash Sahu who made an effort to gather all of us for this seminar at OSA convention. He introduced all the speakers of this seminar. He himself is a practicing Occupational Therapist in the state of Oklahoma.  We hope for better audience participation in such seminars in future. 

Thank you.

Priyadarsini Sathpathy

Seminar on Parenting in a Western Land With Eastern Values: A Peer Discussion - Report by Mamata Misra

Dear Bigyani

I did not get the chance to meet you at the convention. So this is my chance to tell you that I have seen and appreciated the nice work you do with the newsletter. The seminar that I was supposed to facilitate did not happen due to lack of attendance. I waited and could have facilitated if a few people (3 or more) had come but nobody came. Therefore I do not have anything to report.

In case you are wondering why:

1. The time of the seminar was 3-4 pm. The cultural program before it (which was supposed to end at 2:45) ran until 3:45 and the next cultural program was supposed to start at 4:30.

2. Our seminar was for parents. But most parents were too busy getting their children ready for one program or another. They barely had time to stop for tea in between.

3. At conventions most people are there to meet friends and catch up or perform at a program. Seminars are usually of low priority.

4. Two other seminars were scheduled at the same time and the halls where they were scheduled were near the main hall and more visible. So those who were looking for a seminar to go to would naturally stop at the first available one rather than search the program guide for one to choose. There was a program board but nobody seemed to check. Our hall was a little far; no one would accidentally see it unless they were going to a restroom nearby.

5. Some people who have attended my seminars at previous conventions asked me later if I was doing one this year and when I told them that I tried but no one came, they felt disappointed and wished they knew. Even though some folks asked me to try again the next day, I really did not see an empty slot and did not think it was possible.

OSA convention organizers try to squeeze 4 days worth of programs into 2 days and it does not work well. The only convention I have attended where seminars were given importance, and logistics were taken into account well, was one at Monterey a few years ago. I suggest all future organizers to take into account the best practices. In fact, OSA should try to compile a best practices manual for convention organizers if such a thing does not exist since most organizers do not have previous experience in organizing a convention. This manual could be made available on the OSA website.

While my interactive workshop did not happen, several others did and I hope you get good reports to include in your newsletter. If mine had happened I was ready with outline, handouts, and evaluation sheets and I would have told you if and how participants liked it. Sorry.

Mamata Misra

A Documentary on Fakir Mohan Senapati

Anwesan, meaning search, is a film on the life and works of Vyasa Kabi Phakeer Mohan Senapati (1843-1918). It comes under the category of docu-drama: comprising both documentation and dramatization. The film has won the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's Annual Doordarshan Award in November 2003 as the best docu-drama of the year.

The Oriya people owe their Oriya identity in a large measure to Phakeer Mohan Senapati. He was not only a literary genius but a visionary activist whose well-orchestrated efforts saved the Oriya language from extinction.

It took me six long years to research the topic while simultaneously running from pillar to post in search of funds for the film. I am happy that the project eventually could see the light of the day. Anwesan (the Search) is my way of paying a tribute to this quintessential man Phakeer Mohan Senapati.

I have intentionally chosen a young sutradhar (protagonist) in my film to tell the tale of our rich literary and cultural legacy to the younger generation through someone they can relate to. The onus lies on all of us, and specifically the younger generation, to preserve this heritage and carry it further.

- Monica Das, documentary director and prime mover of the film project.

The film ANWESAN features:

• Dramatization of short story Rebati
• Clippings from the film Chhaman Atha Guntha
• Enactment of Boudhavatara Kabya by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
• Dramatization of Patent Medicine through puppetry
• Recreation of incidents from Phakeer Mohan's life
• Interviews with celebrities Sachi Rautray, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Akshay Mohanty, Pratibha Ray, Jatin Das (artist), Parbati Ghosh, Namwar Singh, Sisir Das, Asamese writer Indira Goswami, Professor Shweder, and many other eminent personalities.

Upendra Bhanja belonged to late 17th and early 18th century and was no doubt one of the brightest stars in the literary firmament of Orissa. Though, he lived only 40 years, he wrote more than 70 masterpieces and hundreds of songs, bhajans, etc. within this short span of life. Each of his literary works was not only a masterpiece but also comparable to the best ones in Sanskrit and other languages of India.

His range of creative work and the versatility he demonstrated in all his works had no parallel in other prakritic language or even the tradition of classical Sanskrit. Late Bichhanda Charan Patnaik used to say very emphatically that there was not a poet in India comparable to Bhanja nor will there be one in future. It sounds like an over exaggerated superlative assessment of a patriotic Oriya, of Upendra Bhanja, but, in fact, it is almost true if you make a deep study of all his works. His creativity had the magnitude of the Himalayas with unfathomable and immeasurable dimensions in various facets of literary activity. His was an ornamental style of contemporary India and was same as followed by giants like Kalidasa, Magha etc. in the rich Sanskrit tradition. However, he excelled all of them in range and degree of his versatility in this style. Let me give some examples which will illustrate the above statement.

He wrote 3 Ramayanas, the biggest of which was Baidehisha Bilasa, which was his magnum opus. This book was written with all lines, number of cantos, starting with the letter "Ba". This book is of such high standard that it has enabled dozens of students doing Ph.D. in Oriya, on this book alone. It was certainly a masterpiece among the Ramayanas of India. He wrote another Ramayana called Abana Rasa Taranga, which is written without attaching any vowels to letters (ban*). This implied that he had to write the Ramayana without using Rama, Sita, Hanuman, and Ravana etc. Isn't it asking for the impossible!!. However, he did with remarkable success. None in the world has achieved this feat.

He is perhaps the only poet in the world who declared that he is left with no word that he has not used. In his own words, he had "crossed the ocean of vocabulary". In fact, he has used highly Sanskritized and extremely colloquial Oriya words in such harmony in many of his works that it is unimaginable for anyone else to comprehend such majestic creations and dexterity in composing the words.

He has written numerous poems with unbelievable alliterations and various manipulative styles. It can be achieved only by some rare genius, who has total mastery and complete knowledge of the language and vocabulary. To give one example, which has no parallel in world history, he wrote what I call a 3-in-1 style, a complete canto of many stanzas. If you read the poem as such, it gives the description of the rainy season. Then, if you drop the 1st letters of each line, it becomes the description of the winter season, in a different raga. Then, if you drop the 1st 2 letters of each line, it describes the summer season, in another raga. Has anyone in the world achieved this impossible feat.

He is perhaps the only one who wrote a dictionary in poem in a completely different style and design than the routine ones. In this dictionary he gave the meanings of the words arranged alphabetically, sorted by the last character of the word, instead of the first character. It also gave a lot of synonyms of the uncommon words used in Oriya.

He wrote innumerable musical compositions and bhajans, most of which are today recited by singers and dancers in programs in Odissi tradition and school.

He is perhaps the only Oriya poet in that era who refused to write even one stanza in Sanskrit though he was a master of the language. This is the height of his self-respect and pride in his mother tongue i.e. Oriya. In fact, he wrote, in many of his kavyaas, that in Oriya he would excel the styles and range of the classical Sanskrit works. Indeed, he achieved this with a success that has no parallel in the entire literary world of Oriya language.

Thus, Upendra Bhanja was not only the greatest poet of Orissa, the like of which is unlikely to happen again. He was "A KING AMONG THE POETS AND A POET AMONG THE KINGS" in the history of Orissa. We must salute to this genius, not only on this occasion but for many millennia to come.

Oriya Volunteers of North America

Tapasi Misra, San Antonio, Texas

The Volunteers of North America seminar was conceived as a first step towards creating a network and support group for North American Oriyas who are passionate about service and volunteering. The idea was to celebrate the concept of service, recognize individual volunteers and empower them in their efforts to serve their fellow human beings. We were especially interested in people volunteering in local Indian and mainstream American communities. We were looking for men and women who helped out anywhere, in any capacity, from a few hours to long and regular commitments. Given the importance of the topic and the need to not only initiate it in this year's convention but also to sustain it in subsequent conventions, we wanted to get the youth to champion and spearhead this seminar now and in the future.

The seminar drew a group of dedicated volunteers who engaged in extensive discussions for about an hour and half. We talked about various aspects of volunteering, individual objectives, and effects of our service efforts on ourselves, our families, and on our community. The moderator, Sarita Misra, guided the group in an informal and interactive setting. The attendees spoke about their volunteering experiences from working with hospice and terminally ill patients to abused women and underdeveloped children. Sarita Misra related her experiences working with AmeriCorps in rural Orissa. Likun Mishra and Somdutt Behura stressed on the life lessons they learn and the fulfillment they derive from their service efforts. Sukanya Misra talked about the need for little emotional detachment to remain focused and effective. Mamata Misra shared her experiences helping battered women while Devi Misra emphasized the need for North American Oriyas to recognize and deal with the harsh reality of spousal abuse within our own society. Sanjib Mahapatra suggested the need to be more supportive of each other in our service efforts. Jyotsna Dash – a 12 year old from Copperas Cove, Texas - enlightened us about the community outreach activities of girl scouts and added that they do much more than just sell cookies! Tapasi Misra talked about the support group, Swagat, that she has founded in San Antonio to help new Indian immigrants and students in crisis situations.

At the end of the session Chitra Rath announced that she's considering creating and leading a group of volunteers from the local Oriya/Indian community. Mamata Misra and Sarita Misra distributed handouts about the various volunteering avenues and opportunities. It was a short hour and a half of lively interaction, exchange of information and soul searching. Some of us continued our conversation and discussion in the corridors, lobby, elevators… into the night!

With their faith in the concept of volunteering reconfirmed, every single attendee felt that this seminar should become a regular feature of all OSA conventions, hopefully as a part of youth activities.

                                                                                    NEXT