Odias croon 'Bande Utkal Janani' to honour corona warriors

BHUBANESWAR: Responding to the clarion call given by chief minister Naveen Patnaik Odia people across the globe crooned ‘Bande Utkala Janani…’ to express gratitude to corona warriors on Saturday. The whole Odisha came to a standstill at 5.30 pm when people of all sections of the society starting from politicians, celebrities, sports persons and common men from all ages Sang 'Bande Utkal Janani' in complete unison as a gesture of solidarity to the frontline corona warriors. This public initiative was not just to applaud for the virus-battling workers but to show that we are all together in the fight against the pandemic.
While chief minister Naveen Patnaik led the initiative from his residence, governor Ganeshi Lal, all members of Odisha assembly, staff of Lok Seva Bhawan, police personnel at Commissionerate Police office and in police headquarters in Cuttack, lawyers at Odisha High Court, at educational institutes, in markets and commuters at major traffic junctions sang the iconic song. Expat Odias across India and outside the country have also crooned the sing in their respective places.
The CM thanked each and every one for participating in this heart-warming gesture and said ‘I am indebted to all’. “This showed that at this difficult time all Odias stand together and it has given courage to all corona warriors. Starting from small kids to elders and participation of people of all sections in this initiative has boosted the morale for our fight against coronavirus.” The CM also thanked the unconditional support of all political parties to this programme.
Politicians across the party line joined the public gesture to express their gratitude towards those working day and night in the fight against the deadly virus. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi sang at their homes while BJP’s national vice president Baijayant Panda, MPs also shared the video of singing the song. State units of BJP and Congress organised mass singing of ‘Bande Utkal Janani…’ at their respective party offices and attended by a significant number of members. The song was also played at railway stations.
Even celebrities like noted singer Asha Bhonsle and Shankar Mahadeval also lend their voice for the song and shared videos.
The whole initiative was to show that the hard work and sacrifice done by primarily health workers including doctors, nurses, police personnel, dis-infection drive members, sarpanchs, ASHA and Anganwadi workers has been widely appreciated.
“It was indeed a great feeling reciting the song in mass. We are really thankful to the government and the corona warriors for keeping the spread under control in our state. It gave the confidence that together we can win this fight,” said Suman Kumar Nayak, a shop keeper at Unit-1 market.
After Naveen Patnaik gave the call for singing ‘Bande Utkal Janai…’ in unison, the lyrics of the seven stanza Odia patriotic song was widely circulated by the government in different media and social media platforms. The song that glorifies the state and its rich art and culture was written by Kantakabi Laxmikant Mohapatra in 1912 and has been sung at various government and non-government functions over the years, though it has not been declared as the state anthem yet.
While participating in the noble initiative Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sang the song holding placards showing the demands to save and revive the state’s MSMEs affected due to Covid-19 and demanded a special package for them.