Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 14:

Maintaining the cultural tradition of Odisha, the Odias residing in Varanasi today celebrated “Boita Bandana Utsav” under the aegis of Varanaseya Utkal Samaj (VUS) at Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

On this auspicious occasion, students and Odia family members made colorful rangoli in front of Tulasi Chaura (Tulsi plant planted in a mini podium-like stone or cement structure).The function began with traditional ritual of Puja at Tulasi Chaura followed by the main ritual of floating and worshiping of the miniature boats started. A large beautifully decorated boat was made to symbolize the voyages undertaken by ancestors and glorious maritime past of the state.

To mark the memorable occasion, Prof. B. K. Panda, Prof. Pradosh Mishra, Dr. Kalyan Ghadei, Dr. Asit Sahoo, Dr. Prasant Kumar Nayak and many other Odia members were present with their family. The programme was coordinated by Amiya Kumar Samal, General Secretary, VUS and Bibhuti Bhusan Sahoo. The designing of boat was made by Subham Prakash Dash, Nihar Ranjan Kar, Sarbjit Das, Biswajit Sahoo. Odia Students of different faculty of BHU were present in large number.

Notably, VUS is spreading the Odia culture among the Odia people and beyond the Odia community living around the holy city of Varanasi for a very long time.