Abbreviation | OSUK |
---|---|
Formation | 1980 |
Type | Community Interest Company (CIC) |
Purpose | Awareness of Odia Language, Culture and Heritage |
Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Location |
|
Official language | Odia English |
Website | OSUK.org.uk |
The Odisha Society of UK (OSUK) was established in 1980 to provide a cultural and social platform for the Odia community in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to preserve and promote the heritage and culture of the Indian state of Odisha. In 2023, OSUK was officially registered as the Odisha Society of United Kingdom (OSUK) as a Community Interest Company (CIC) on 10 October 2023. [1]
OSUK was established by a group of Odia doctors and families residing in the UK. The initial idea began with informal gatherings led by Dr. Ramachandra Maharana and Mrs. Shobha Maharana. The first formal convention was organized by Dr. Padmalochan Panigrahi in Leeds on 15 November 1980. The organization was initially named the Orissa Doctors Association. In 1981, it was renamed the Orissa Medical and Associates of UK.
In 1998, the organization adopted its current name, the Odisha Society of UK. Over the years, OSUK has evolved into a registered Community Interest Company (CIC) as of 10 October 2023, with a mission to connect the Odia diaspora and serve as a bridge between Odisha and the UK.
The key objectives of OSUK are:
OSUK organizes several events throughout the year, including:
The society also collaborates with various organizations to strengthen the cultural ties between Odisha and the UK.
The official logo of the Odisha Society of UK (OSUK) was registered as a trademark with the UK Intellectual Property Office under trademark number UK00004027129 in 2024. The logo represents the identity of the organization and symbolizes its mission to connect the Odia community in the UK. [2]
The organization is led by a committee elected by its members. The committee oversees the planning and execution of various cultural, social, and charitable initiatives.
Name | Director | Appointment Year | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Partha Sarathi Panda | Director | 2023 | Active | [3] |
Dr Bibhuti Bhusan Pattnayak | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Dr Prakash Dey | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Pravat Mishra | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Salil Kumar Das | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Srikanta Kumar Padhi | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Sasmita Rajhansha | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Dipti Mohanty | Director | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Subhakanta Das | Core Committee Member | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Sweta Mohanty | Core Committee Member | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Sumant Mansingh | Core Committee Member | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Ambika Padhy | Core Committee Member | 2024 | Active | [3] |
Dr. Nityananda Pattnaik | Advisor | 2024 | Active | [3] |
OSUK is organized into various regional chapters across the United Kingdom, allowing for more localized engagement and activities. Each chapter focuses on promoting Odia culture and heritage within their specific areas. The chapters of OSUK and their respective formation years are listed below:
Chapter | Formation Year |
---|---|
Kent | 2022 |
London | 2015 |
Bath | 2020 |
Leeds | 1980 |
Manchester | 2015 |
Reading | 2018 |
Croydon | 2016 |
Milton Keynes | 2022 |
Each chapter holds events and activities, contributing to OSUK's overall mission of connecting the Odia diaspora in the UK.
Each year, the Odisha Society of UK (OSUK) organizes an annual convention in different cities across the United Kingdom. The convention serves as a platform for the Odia community to celebrate culture, heritage, and achievements. Below is a list of recent conventions:
Year | Location | Description |
---|---|---|
2023 | London | The 44th Annual Convention featured cultural events, discussions, and the visit of seven Odia women entrepreneurs. [4] The event was highlighted by coverage from various news outlets. [5] [6] [7] The 44th Annual Convention also featured a special message from Odisha's Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik. [8] |
2022 | Manchester | OSUK organized the 43rd Annual Convention, which featured **CINEODISHA**, a special film platform celebrating the rich cinematic heritage of Odisha. This initiative was designed to showcase timeless films from the region, offering a dedicated space for Odia cinema to gain international recognition. [9] |
2021 | Loughton, Essex | 42nd Annual convention organised by Essex chapter. |
2020 | Online | The 41st Annual Convention of OSUK was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions. Despite the challenges, the virtual format allowed for widespread participation, with many individuals successfully joining the event. [10] |
Chapter | Year | Description |
---|---|---|
London | 2024 | On April 15, 2024, the Odia community living in England celebrated Utkal Divas, marking the foundation day of Odisha. The event was a vibrant celebration of Odia culture, showcasing traditional music, dance, and food. The festivities were part of the ongoing efforts of the Odisha Society of United Kingdom (OSUK) to preserve and promote Odia heritage abroad. The London chapter played a key role in organizing the event, which attracted many Odias from across the UK. [11] [12] [13] |
Jagannatha is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with his (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is a form of Krishna, sometimes as the avatar of Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.
Berhampur is a city on the eastern coastline of Odisha, India.
Rasgulla is a syrupy dessert popular in the eastern part of South Asia. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings.
The Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ), formerly spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak the Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations existing in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Karan or Karana is a community found in the state of Odisha in India. The post of Karana used to be a professional designation that was occupied by literate peoples. They held Karanam posts in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, where they speak Odia and played a similar role in Odisha to that of the Kayasthas of West Bengal and Bihar. In the social hierarchy of Odisha they rank next to Brahmins. They exclusively served the ruling powers as their ministers, advisors, governors, military commanders, record keepers and dewans. They owned most Zamindaris in Odisha. They have the highest literacy caste-wise and are highly prosperous. Today they are a politically dominant community and have reigned over the politics of Odisha for 50 years.
Pakhaḷa is an Odia cuisine, consisting of cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water. The liquid part of the dish is known as Toraṇi. It is popular in the state of Odisha and its similar in the eastern regions like Jharkhand the northeastern states of Assam.
The Odisha Society of the Americas, or OSA, is an organization whose stated goals are to promote the culture of the Indian state of Odisha in the United States and Canada, and to facilitate the exchange of information between Odisha and North America. Founded in 1969, OSA is registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States. The main event of the organization is an annual convention which aims to bring members of the Odia diaspora together to celebrate their ethnic culture. It held an annual get-together called convention, where people of Odia origin from different parts of USA and Canada mingled and shared experiences of ethnic living.
Bāli Jātrā, pronounced[balidʒat̪ɾa], is the major Boita Bandana festival held at Cuttack on Kartik Purnima and lasts for 7 days or more, i.e. usually until Prathamastami. It is considered to be one of Asia's largest open trade fair. The festival is held in Odisha, in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river, to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion. To commemorate this, the festival is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima to Prathamastami according to the Odia calendar.
Odisha is one of the 28 states of India, located on the eastern coast. It is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the northeast, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and northwest, and Andhra Pradesh to the south and southwest. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by 33.2 million according to the 2001 Census. The modern state of Odisha was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions. April 1 is celebrated as Odisha Day.
Odisha Day, also Utkala Dibasa, is celebrated on 1 April in the Indian state of Odisha in memory of the formation of the state as a separate state out of Bihar and Orissa Province with addition of undivided Koraput District and Ganjam District from the Madras Presidency on 1 April 1936. After losing its political identity completely in 1568 following the defeat and demise of the last king Mukunda Dev, efforts resulted in the formation of a politically separate state under British rule on a linguistic basis on 1 April 1936.
Odia diaspora are people of Odia ancestry residing outside the Indian state of Odisha.
Gourahari Das is a creative writer, journalist and an academician.
Bandē Utkaḷa Jananī is an Odia patriotic poem written by Laxmikanta Mohapatra in 1912. Odisha became the first state in British India to be formed on linguistic basis on 1 April 1936. The music was first recorded by Gokul Mohanty in 1932. The modern notation was arranged by the Odissi musician Balakrushna Dash which was adopted as the state anthem. The Odisha Cabinet on 7 June 2020, accorded the poem the status as the Anthem of Odisha.
Pandit Nilakantha Das (1884-1967) was one of the most illustrious sons of Odisha, who appeared both in its political and literary arena at the most crucial period of its history, when Odisha had no political identity in the map of India, and Odia as a language was about to be extinct. He worked relentlessly for Odisha's recognition both politically and linguistically, and helped bring to fruition the dreams of Utkala Gaurab Madhusudan Das, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das and all other Odia loving people.
Kasturi Pattanaik is a pioneering Odissi dance exponent, performer, choreographer, teacher, trainer and music composer from India.
Utkala Sammilani is an Indian social and cultural organization. It was founded in Odisha in 1903 by Madhusudan Das and continues in present times.
Gourishankar Ray, better known as Karmaveer Gourishankar, a prominent figure amongst the makers of Modern Orissa (Odisha) as well as the savior of Odia (Oriya) language and literature, who led the Save Oriya Movement during the late nineteenth century working relentlessly for the protection and preservation of the Odia language. He was a Bengali from East Bengal from a Zamindar Kayastha family at a time when an anti Oriya movement rocked the province to replace it by Bengali in the coastal, Hindi in the western and Telugu in the southern Orissa which ultimately was thwarted and Oriya was given its due place.
Sisua is a medium-sized village in the Salipur taluk/mandal/tehsil/block of Cuttack district in the state of Odisha, India, close to the new Sisua Village Jagannath Temple. The village lies South of Cuttack to Kendraparda road left of Sisua village road if traveling South. As of 2009 Kantapara is the gram panchayat of Sisua village
Laxmikanta Mohapatra was an Indian Odia poet, writer, performance artist and freedom fighter. More than ten of his books have been published. He was a leading campaigner of the Odisha State unification movement and an eminent member of Utkala Sammilani.
Mardala is a classical percussive instrument native to the east Indian state of Odisha, traditionally used as the primary accompaniment in Odissi classical music. The instrument is slightly different from other instruments that might have similar names in the Indian subcontinent due to its unique construction, acoustic features and traditional playing technique.