When ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ was sung at the foot of Burj Khalifa on Utkala Dibasa

Dubai/Bhubaneswar:  It was a nostalgic moment for Odia families residing in Dubai as they gathered at the foot of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world this morning and celebrated ‘Utkala Dibasa’ on the foreign land.

Maintaining social distancing guidelines with face masks on, the Odia families who congregated at the foot on Burj Khalifa celebrated Odisha’s formation Day by singing Kantakabi Laxmikant Mohapatra’s ‘Bande Utkala Janani.’ Later, they relished on Odisha’s much-loved traditional delicacies ‘Arisa Pitha’, ‘Aloo Dum’ and ‘Baraa.’

This little celebration was apparently a humble gesture from the Odia people who have been residing in the UAE for almost a decade now, expressing that they missed their motherland and are yearning to visit once the COVID-19 pandemic situation normalizes.

Richa Samantray, an Odia entrepreneur settled in UAE for the last 10 years had volunteered to prepare the Odia delicacies for today’s special occasion and that gave her immense joy, she said.

Another Odia Priyandarshee Panigrahi who is working with an FMCG company said that reciting ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ at that venue was a unique experience for him.

Adding to the list, Rajesh Tripathy, who has been working with a large global business school expressed that the celebration was symbolic and inculcated a sense of patriotism and fraternal bonding among the fellow Odias residing in the foreign land.