London: Odisha Society of United Kingdom (OSUK) elected New Office Bearers during its 45th Annual Convention held at Cardiff recently. Marine Engineer Biswajit Pradhan got elected as President of the Forty Five years old apex organisation of Odia Diaspora settled in U.K. Shri Pradhan has been striving hard to create an unified and inclusive platform for all Odias living in U.K. since last 18 years of his stay in Britain. IT consultant Sukanta Sahu would be the new General Secretary of OSUK. Being the Trustee outreach of Shri Jagannath Society of U.K., Shri Sahu has been instrumental in accomplishing stupendous task of planting one lakh Neem Trees in Odisha and spreading Jagnnath Cult and Spiritual Awareness across the Globe. Other members elected to the new executive committee are Kishore Dash as Treasurer, Akshita Brahma and Anushree Patnaik as Cultural Secretaries, Madhusmita Jena as Sports Secretary, Vishal Mayo as IT Administrator and Ashriyansh Fernado and Priyansh Fernado as Secretaries of Youth Affairs. The new Advisory panel consisting of three members includes Dr Nishebita Das, Susri Wells and Dr Aditya Singh.The New team would be in charge of OSUK affairs for a term of three years.
The two days long Annual Convention at scenic and serene Cardiff bay was held with much pomp, myriad splendour and massive fanfare. A large number of non – resident Odias alongwith their families descended from the nook and corner of U.K. to take part in the Grand Celebration. The Convention venue at the Auditorium in Penarth was decked up aesthetically and elegantly to wear the look of a mini Odisha. This year unusual interest, unexpected enthusiasm and unprecedented excitements were witnessed among the participants of the Mega Event. The Conclave showcased the rich art, diverse culture, vibrant heritage and lofty tradition of Odisha.
The special attraction of the Convention was a spectacular cultural extravaganza presented by eminent artists from Odisha and U.K. The highlight of the supersonic show was pure Odissi and innovative fusion dance choreographies performed by Padmashri Aruna Mohanty and troupe. The audience were spellbound by witnessing Smt Mohanty and group’s magical and mesmerising creative articulation on the stage. The superbly enactment of the play “Patitapaban” based on the life of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das by Welsh Drama Group, display of talents and excellence in recitals of dance, music and musical instruments by members of OSUK and their childrens, staging of evergreen hilarious Skit ‘Paana Dokan’ designed by Dr Ramesh Routray in the loving memory of Dr Bishnu Routray were highly entertaining and enthralled the spectators thoroughly.
Several scintillating sportive activities were also form part of the memorable summit. These include tournaments of Badminton and cricket, fun filled competitions of Puchi and Antakshari among members. The fashion show parades magnificently curated by Ramoli Creations and Sam & Saheri Designs during both the evenings added full of colour and glamour to the cultural Jamboori and were major hits among youth members. The Programme was ably anchored by Durgesh Nandini Mishra and Akshita Brahma . The highly successful OSUK Convention was partly supported for the third consecutive year by Shero properties based in Dubai.
The entire arrangements of the Convention was smoothly managed and neatly executed by the highly skilled Organising Committee consisting of Chairperson Dr Nishebita Das and Members Anushree Patnaik, Dr Aditya Singh, Khitish Mohanty, Snehasis Tripathy, Adyasha Mallick, Suchitra Das Mohapatra and Sagnika Satpathy.
