SANSKRITI YATRA EXPRESS TRAIN REACHES ORISSA

The Sanskriti Yatra Express, a special train being run by Indian Railways to mark the 150th

birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur, arrived in Orissa on September 11, 2010. The train was earlier flagged off by Minister of Railways, Ms Mamata Banerjee on May 9 from Howrah this year and it will cover the entire country, camping in at least 100 Railway stations, before it returns to Howrah on May 8, 2011. The train, having 5 air-conditioned specially designed coaches, showcases Tagore’s paintings, poetry and other works through elegantly framed rare photographs and artifacts mounted on the walls to depict the life of the Nobel laureate. Besides, there is a special section screening documentaries on the life and works of the Kaviguru, and sale of books, music, photographs and other Santiniketan products.

Shri Sanjiv Garg, DRM at the exhibitionas Shri J.P. Mishra, Sr.DCM looks on

Shri Sanjeev Mehta, CPRO/ECoR inthe Shantiniketan products section

General public at Cuttack viewingthe old and rare photographs

Intellectuals and fans at Bhubaneshwartrying to absorb the displays

Links between Tagore and Orissa go back to the time when Rabindranath Tagore spent some years in the calm environment of sea side village of Pandua in Jagatsinghpur district, where he wrote the famous dance drama ‘Chitrangada’. The Tagores were the zamindars of Pandua area and thirty nearby villages were under their zamindari. Rabindranath Tagore used to visit Pandua, along with family members, in the summers. In 1939, the poet spent two months in Puri as a guest of the then Prime Minister of Orissa, Biswanath Das.

School girls of Cuttack line-up in front ofone of the many interesting information

School boys at Mancheshwar stationbraving the rain to see the exhibition

School children and public in queue atPuri eager to enter the exhibition train

Small children religiously taking downnotes which looks like a class assignment

East Coast Railway took pride in presenting the exhibition-on-wheels to public at some of its important stations. The train was at Cuttack station from 11.09.2010 to 14.09.2010, at Mancheswar (in Bhubaneswar) from 15.09.10 to 18.09.10 and at Puri from 19.09.10 to 21.09.10. It received warm welcome by lovers of literature and Tagore fans, including many villagers from Pandua. Crowds of researchers and scholars made a bee line to see the exhibits. Despite heavy rains and the twin festivals of Ganesh Puja and Id, the number of visitors at Cuttack was more than 16,000. People, especially youth and students, thronged the train in large numbers in the capital and the total footfall at Bhubaneswar was about 25,000. Enthusiastic public of the coastal town of Puri greeted the train in a big way and there were 23,000 visitors.

The venue Kalyan Mandap, Puri decorated Shri L.V.S.S. Patrude, Sr.DPO welcomes

for the cultural programme on 19.09.10on the eve of Sanskriti Express Exhibition

Train reaching the coastal town

Chief Guest Shri Sanjiv Garg, DRM asShri S.Bahuguna, ADRM (left) and

Shri Sanjeev Mehta, CPRO (right) clap

Mrs S.Bahuguna, Vice President, ECoRWWO lighting the lamp of Lord

Jagannath before the start of the programme

Shri L.V.S.S. Patrude, Sr.DPO handing over the stage to the announcers

Dr Pravas Acharya and Ms Nabanita Bose

On September 19, the day of its arrival at Puri, Khurda Road Division organised a colorful cultural evening at the Railway Kalyan Mandap. The first half of the programme was presented by the students of Chandril Odissi Centre, Kolkata, which is functioning under the tutelage of Guru Arundhati Roy, the Secretary of Odissi Dancers Forum of Kolkata. It started with Mangalacharan, an innovational peace of dance paying homage to Lord Jagannath, which was followed by dances on Rabindranath Tagore’s songs in Odissi style. The group led by Ms. Arundhati Roy finally performed a dance drama based on Tagore’s poem ‘Urvashi’.

Mangalacharan performed by group from Chandril Odissi Centre, Kolkata

Urvashi, a mythological dance drama, showsa youthful beauty descending from heaven

Guru Arundhati Roy and her disciples strike a pose in a scene from Urvashi

Shri Sanjiv Garg, DRM presents a bouquet to Ms Arundhati Roy in appreciation

The second half of the programme was compiled by the Division. It started with Ms. Mohapatra Minati Bhanja, a Railway employee of Khurda Road, reciting songs in Oriya and Bengali. Then there were two powerful performances of Odissi dance by the members of Sangita Nrutya Kala Pratisthan, Jatni. At the end, traditional Gotipua dance was performed by the artistes from Raj Mahavir Goti Pua Nrutya Parishad, Puri. The entire programme was compared by Dr. Pravas Acharya and Ms. Nabanita Bose in four languages; Odiya, Bengali, Hindi and English.

Mohapatra Minati Bhanja enthralls theaudience with songs in regional languages

Odissi dance performance by artistes ofSangita Nrutya Kala Pratisthan of Jatni

Santa Rao, Pramila Singh and group ofJatni in an electrifying Oddisi performance

Gotipua dance by a local Puri group underdirection of Guru Sj Ashok Kr Mishra