Odisha rejoices after Prime Minister Narendra Modi brings up Baliyatra at G20 summit

BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday brought up Odisha's Baliyatra (voyage to Bali) at a meeting in the Indonesian capital of Bali where he has gone to meet world leaders at the G20 summit.
"The Indonesian people will be proud and happy to see photos of Cuttack's Baliyatra being celebrated on a grand scale with mass participation after two years of Covid break," Prime Minister Modi said.
People of Odisha said it is indeed a proud moment and demanded that Baliyatra should be declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco like Durga Puja of Kolkata.
Vice-chancellor of Utkal University of Culture Byomakesh Tripathy said, "This is a proud moment for all of us and a glory for all Odias. The people of the state have kept alive the age-old maritime glory of the state and commemorate the cultural link with Indonesia year after year. Now, it is important to revive the cultural links and interactions by declaring Baliyatra an intangible cultural heritage by Unesco. The Centre and state governments should present a dossier on this."
Addressing the Indian community in Bali, the Prime Minister said, "As I speak to you in Bali and we sing songs of Indonesian traditions, 1,500km away from here in India's Cuttack, Baliyatra Mahotsav is under way. This Mahotsav celebrates thousands of years' old India-Indonesia trade relations."
Sunil Patnaik, archaeologist in Odishan Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies, who has conducted a research on Odisha's maritime links with Southeast Asian countries, said, "There is no denying a fact that Odisha has a trade relation with various South Asian countries for up to 1,000 years since first century AD. There is archaeological evidence at Kalingapatnam and Manikapatna. However, the cultural exchange process should be revived and strengthened now. The Prime Minister talking about it has rejuvenated our thoughts."
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the PM for mentioning the glorious and rich traditional heritage of Odisha and mentioning Baliyatra.
"In the past, our traders have created a strong bond between India and Indonesia through maritime trade and business, which has created the tradition of Baliyatra. The Prime Minister mentioning this will motivate many Odias to learn more about our past," Pradhan said in a tweet.