Guwahati: Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Sunday attended Utkal Divas program, organized by the city-based Kalinga Sanskritik Sansada and Jagannath temple trust at Kalakshetra premise and extended his wishes on the sacred occasion stating that Odisha has great contributions in enriching the spiritual orientation and giving
the people a strong identity, where Puri Jagannath temple is the testimony to spiritual identity of the people.
“On 1 April 1936, Utkal Prant was formed as the first linguistic State of India. On this occasion, let us remember the contributions of Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das, Krishna Chandra Gajapati, Madhusudan Rao, Neelkanth Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Radhanath Rai and others and pay tributes to those great personalities who contributed immensely to the Statehood of Odisha,” said Governor Kataria.
Drawing allegory between Assam and Odisha, the Governor observed that though the States are geographically dispersed by around two thousand kilometers, yet linkages between the States have deep historical and
civilization roots, going back to several centuries. Several individuals are responsible for building the bond of friendship between Assam and Odisha. The first pillar of this invisible bridge was created by the 15th century saint-philosopher Srimanta Sankardev who visited Puri twice and sowed the seeds of pious friendship.
The second pillar was built by the tea garden workers who migrated from Odisha to give Assam the sprawling tea industry. He opined that both Odia and Assamese communities are devoted to Lord Jagannath (Krishna). The Vaishnava cult of Jagannath is seen to have got resurgence under the influence of Sankaradeva in Assam, who spent the maximum period of his pilgrimage at Puri.
Assam Guv attends Utkal Divas in the city
