Odia tradition: Boita Bandana Utsav at India Gate Fest dedicated to Phailin Victims New Delhi, 17.11.2013 ::In the winter morning with a backdrop of the great India Gate Odia people & connoisseur of art of Delhi flocked together at the Boat Club to celebrate 10th Boita Bandana Utsav, The traditional boat sailing festival of ancient Odisha, organized by Bal Jagruti Association of Delhi, an association working for downtrodden people since sixteen years. The function started with traditional Veda charting by renowned anchor Hrusikesh Panigrahi to an open & early November sky of Delhi, who also moderated a seminar held by the Association later in the afternoon. The festival which falls on the full moon day of month of Kartika being commemorated to remind the ancient maritime business of the then kalinga sadhabas (Kalinga). This time the traditional festival was observed of course in a low key because of the Phailin that fall in Odisha recently and we are organizing a national seminar on “sea coast of Odisha & effect of phailin”.said Mr. Gobardhan Dhal, the chairmen of Boita bandana Utsav & President of Bal Jagruti Association .The Association is diverting its fund meant for the festival towards the rehabilitation of the cyclone and flood affected people of Odisha. Other important event organized by the Association was well decorated boat sailing, where people as Sadhabas sail on the boat to commemorate the beginning of Sadhaba’s bonvoyage day.Habisha food exclusively made for kartika poornima was distributed to all the invitees in Jagannath Mandir,Houzkhas after the festival.Shri Dambaru Dhal,Prashant kumar biswal,Meharban Khan,Jitendra Kumar Nayak,Prasant Kumar Roul coordinated the event. To mark the memorable occasion the following eminent personalities were present and participate in the festival. Rama Chandra Khuntia(MP,Rajya Sabha),Amarendra Mohapatra, Dr. N.K.Sahu, Balakrushna Panda, Kasturi Pattnaik, Kishore Chandra Dwibedi, Manoj Kumar Nayak, Bhagirathi Dhal, Sambit Patra. .