As many as 50,000 schoolchildren sang the State anthem ‘Bande Utkal Janani’, written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra, at a children’s festival organised by Bharatiya Shiksha Vikash Sansthan at the Baramunda ground here on Sunday.
Children from 1,000 schools from across the State participated in the event. The song was first sung in 1912 at the ninth session of the Utkal Sammilani, the organisation that had spearheaded the agitation for a separate province of Odisha on linguistic basise. It was sung for the first time in the State Assembly on December 22, 1994.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who attended as chief guest at Sunday’s function urged the students to be patriotic and work for an overall development of the State and the country. He also unveiled a special painting on ‘Utkal Janani’.
Singer Laxmikant Palit enthralled the students by singing some patriotic songs. Besides, folksongs and dances were performed by the students. MP Prasanna Patsani, Sports and Youth Services Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and thousands of teachers were present.