CHAPTER NEWS

CANADA CHAPTER  (Reported by Hara Padhi)

Members of ‘Canosa’ celebrated ‘Kumar Utsav’ in Nov 2003 at Toronto, with a shared perception of commitment to Oryia culture and values. The cultural programs presented by adults and children alike, were not only entertaining but also informative.

To begin well the program started with a devotional Aarti, to Lord Jaganath the almighty and was followed by many dance and dramas. The children presented a fabulous drama called “Narakaasura Sanghara”, pinpointing victory of good over evil and the adults created an impression with a stage show called “Dwanda” or  (dilemma) faced by new immigrants in an alien land. A tribal group dance, a series of Oddisi dances, group singing by a few talented tint tots, film melodies from popular movies sung by enthusiastic singers, all made  “Kumar Utsav” celebration a meaning success. The entertainment was followed by a good dinner.

The arrangement would not have been credible without the direct involvement of member volunteers whose input as producers, directors, and organizers on stage and off stage are commendable.

We look forward to many more such “get togethers’’, to strengthen the bond between the members of the Oriya community and create a sense of social responsibility, up warding our cultural values as reported by new members. Here is some good news for our community. Two of our young community members Loreeta Patnaik & Shovan Sahu got married on December 2003. This year five new young Oriya members are added to our community. Trankanta & Samilani Dhala blessed with a baby girl. Ranjan & Anjali Pradhan blessed with a girl (2^nd daughter). Ramesh & Padmashree Baral blessed with a baby boy. Abhijoy & Itishree Misra blessed with a baby boy (2^nd son). Prasad & Sarojini Rao blessed with a baby boy. Congratulations to everyone.

Chicago Chapter: (Reported by Mrs. Ipsita Satpathy, President)

The last few months have been very interesting for the Chicago Chapter. We had our new office bearers take office in September. The new team is working towards involving the younger generation in all activities and reaching out to other communities in the Chicago area to increase awareness of Orissa’s rich cultural heritage. We are a growing community of 65-70 families in this area.

On October 10^th 2003, we celebrated Kumar Purnima. This event was well attended by about 30 families from the Greater Chicago area. The children and adults presented a fabulous cultural program. A scrumptious feast arranged by Mrs. Priyambada Nayak, Mrs. Anu Khandai, Mrs. Ajanta Jena and Mrs. Ratna Mishra followed it.

On November 8^th, we had an Odissi Dance recital by Mr. and Mrs. Manoranjan Pradhan at Anderson Theater. The Chicago community was wowed by their impressive performance.

On November 15^th we celebrated Deepavali. Mrs. Tiki  Behera and Mrs Timi Khuntia arranged the food. About 30 families attended it. The decorations consisted of cards and posters of “Subha Deepavali” written in Oriya by the students of the Chicago Oriya School.

On November 21^st we had the honor to host the Governor of Orissa, His Excellency Mr. M. M. Rajendran. We had the opportunity to discuss with him the chief matter of interest to us, our involvement in Orissa and how we can contribute to the community. There was an informal discussion regarding involvement in the education and entrepreneurship front. The program started with a welcome address by the President, OSA to welcome the Governor and his family and the new Consulate General to the Indian Consulate, Chicago and his family. There was a short cultural program with two of our children Ankita Khandai and Suraj Pattnaik presenting an Odissi item and a Hindustani classical item respectively. Mr. Ashok Mishra presented a beautiful song about Orissa. This was followed by a reception.

On January 31st we celebrated Saraswati Puja at Chinmaya Mission, Chicago. Resident Swami Sharananandaji who hails from Orissa conducted the auspicious Puja. After the Puja there was cultural program with bhajans and shlokas by Simron Sahu, Suraj Pattnaik, Shivansh Padhy, Mrs. Sujata Pattnaik, Mrs. Donna Padhy, Mr. Radhagobinda Mohanty and Mrs. Chhabi Mohanty. Jyoti Mishra and Ankita Khandai performed Odissi dance. They are senior students of Mrs. Ipsita Satpathy. The students from the Chicago Oriya School performed a dance drama "Kanchi Abhijan" directed by Mrs. Ipsita Satpathy. Food coordinators Mrs. Bibina Mohanty, Mrs Sujata Pattnaik and Mrs. Bharati Khuntia arranged the excellent food. 

The Chicago Chapter in association with SANDYP has been responsible in building of a multi-purpose shelter project in Patasara, Jagatsingpur. Honorable Chief Minister of Orissa, Mr. Naveen Pattnaik inaugurated this on Feb 21^st, 2004. Our community is proud to be instrumental in initiating and successfully completing the project under Mrs. Minakhi Panigrahy (President, OSA Chicago 2001-2003). A few other developmental projects that were initiated with other organizations in Orissa by the Chicago chapter are in various stages of completion.

Forthcoming events:

This year’s summer picnic is being planned for sometime in August. To give the ladies in our community a break from cooking delicious Oriya food, the men have stepped forward to arrange the food for the picnic and the next Puja.

MICHIGAN CHAPTER (Reported by Rina Mahapatra, President)

MI_OSA celebrated Saraswati Puja at TROY, MIchigan. It was a huge success. We had a gathering of about 50 families. Our Puja was performed by Jogesh Panda. Krishna Senapati helped Jogesh with all puja Samagri. The decoration was done by Smriti Panda. We had "Khadi Chuan" for some children. We had some story telling, coloring book, word puzzzle about Ma Saraswati for our children. Lot of our members volunteered for food; which was delicious as usual. Participation of most of our members made this event successful and fun. I am attaching couple of pictures from our Saraswati Puja with this report.

We are planning BASANTA UTSAV on April 25th at WESTLAND, Michigan. We are planning to have lot of games and fun. Thanking you - Rina Mahapatra, Presidemt, MI-OSA.  

NEW JERSEY CHAPTER (Reported by Nageswar Prusty, President and Sameer Mishra, Cultural Secretary)  

OSA New Jersey chapter observed Saraswati Puja on 31st January 2004 at Dr Mohan Rao Kintali’s residence. OSA New Jersey chapter has been performing Saraswati Puja celebration at his residence for last nineteen years. Dr Akhileswar Patel performed the Puja. OSA NJ family members and children chanted slokas, sang Bhajans. Tentative dates for the upcoming functions (Bisuva Milan, Picnic, Ganesh Puja and Kumar Purnima) for the whole year was decided after Puja. OSA NJ is planning to observe Bisuva Sankranti on 24th April 2004.

NEW YORK CHAPTER (Reported by Pradip Tripathy,  OSANY Management Team Representative)

SARASWATI PUJA, 2004: A bird’s eye view: On the auspicious day of Basant Panchami, Jan 25, 2004, OSANY organized Saraswati Puja, which was marked by a large congregation, a plethora of cultural activities and overall, a highly spirited group environment. After a new set of volunteers took charge of OSANY in Oct. 2003, Saraswati Puja, 2004 has been the first event conducted by this new group. Being held in a traditional temple venue (Ved Mandir, NJ), OSANY experienced a huge gathering of 141 adults and 79 kids belonging to 75 families. Abiding by the temple rules, the decoration was simple but well done to give the feeling of a traditional puja environment like back home in Orissa. Sri Pitambar Sarangi performed the puja, which emphasized devotion to the Goddess Saraswati, the true essence of the day.

The OSANY cultural team pulled together some well organized set of activities which included crayon painting, essay writing for the children, a quiz competition open to all, Bhajans for adults, a children’s skit, and several other group and individual dances and musical performances by the kids.

As the organization was expecting a good number of attendees, given the wide varieties of choices, almost everybody appreciated the catered food and arrangements. The food management team did a praise worthy job managing such a big number of attendees within the constraints of a small lunchroom. The hot tea that was omnipresent right from the beginning to the end of the day when the weather outside was frigid and hostile did wonders to the spirit. With this kind of exuberant support from the members, OSANY hopes to have several such successful events going forward this year. For details visit: www.osany.org.

Oriya News and Music on the air waves: Utkal Prabha was inaugurated on Feb 21^st , 2004. It is aired every Saturday at 11:00 AM on EBC Radio Channel 1680AM. This is definitely not the first time we have had an Oriya Radio program amidst our community here but this hopefully will provide a new flavor to entertainment and enlighten the young and the not so young alike. The program hopes to play both old and nostalgic tunes as well as the latest new Oriya tunes and film songs (along with Oriya Bhajans for all occasions). Listeners will get to hear weekly news updates and interesting facts and figures about our homeland that they may have missed or forgotten. We plan to interview distinguished Oriya guests on the Radio program as often as opportunity presents itself. The broadcasts are going to be primarily in Oriya with a smattering of English (for the benefit of the  young generation) with the phone lines open to suggestions and questions from the listeners. Utkal Prabha is being supported and guided by a team of young people including the two compeer's for the show (Aruna and Prachi as they are known on the radio show) as well as some benevolent sponsors.

This program can be heard from anywhere through web site www.ebcmusic.com. OSANY hopes to have the support of an enthusiastic group of listeners and sponsors to make this an effective Oriya socio-cultural medium. More Details at: www.osany.org. For Program specific emails: utkalprabha@osany.org.

OSANY Eye Camp event in Orissa: With the support of the good people at Sri Borda Eye Institute and Research center, Bhubaneswar" OSANY recently conducted the first Eye Camp of the year at the Village Mangalpur, Kusupanga, in Dhenkanal district, Orissa. The camp was open to all people of nearby villages. 110 people from 10 villages attended the screening and checkup camp.

Cataract surgery was successfully performed for 19 people (10 male and 9 female). Laser eye surgery techniques were used for these operations resulting in no stitches and infections. All the medicines and lenses needed for distributed free of cost to all the treated patients.  Patient details, photographs, letter from Hospital are available on our web site www.osany.org. 

Mainly the poor and the needy people benefited from this project. As a pilot project the intention was to workout the details of how to go about setting up these Eye Camps. OSANY is now in a position to:
1. Help organize and conduct an eye camp at your preferred location/village anywhere in Orissa, with a donation of $500 or more (All expenses for Unlimited screening and 40 surgeries).
2. You can also donate $20 (all expenses included) for one person one eye cataract operation (Laser based).OSANY will provide the details of the patient(s) benefited from your kind donation. We encourage you to contribute generously towards this project. For details email: info@osany.org.

Ratha Yatra:  Sunday July 11, 2004.

Bahuda Yatra: July 18, 2004.

Venue: Shiva Vishnu Temple, 7733 Ridge Road, Parma, Ohio.   (www.shivavishnutemple.org)

For past several years the celebration of Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath has become a major attraction at Shiva Vishnu temple.  For more information please contact Birendra Jena [jena-1@att.worldnet.net, (330) 494-2618].

Summer Picnic: August 21, 2004.

Venue: Alum Creek State Park (near Columbus).