Odisha, formerly Orissa, is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India. It neighbours the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres (301 mi) along the Bay of Bengal in Indian Ocean. The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned by this name in India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana". The language of Odisha is Odia, which is one of the Classical Languages of India.
Odia is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha, where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odia is one of the many official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand. The language is also spoken by 700,000 people in Chhattisgarh.
Dhauli or Dhauligiri is a hill located on the banks of the river Daya, 8 km south of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India.
Swabhaba kabi Gangadhar Meher was an Odia poet of the 19th century. Though poor in wealth and education, he remained one of the most prolific and original contributor to Odia literature.
Bāli Jātrā, pronounced [bali dʒat̪ɾa], is the major Boita Bandana festival held at Cuttack on Kartik Purnima. 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 according to the Odia calendar.
The Lakshmi Purana is an Odia text written in the 15th century by Balarama Dasa, a major poet of Odia literature. Despite its name, it is not one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism, having been written in the medieval era as a piece of regional literature that discusses gender and social norms.
Bhubaneswar Behera was an engineer, writer and scholar from the Kalahandi district of Odisha.
Boita Bandāna also known as Dangā Bhasā, is a traditional Odia maritime and naval festival celebrated annually throughout Odisha, India. The name could be translated as "to float ritual boats and worshipping with lighted lamp" and comes from the tradition of making decorated boats, which are then floated on a river as a symbolic gesture of their ancestors' voyage.
Amos Sutton was an English General Baptist missionary to Odisha, India, and hymn writer. He published the first English grammar of the Odia language (1831), a History (1839), and Geography (1840), then the first dictionary of Odia (1841–43), as well as a translation of the Bible (1842–45). He also composed a hymn to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne": "Hail, sweetest, dearest tie, that binds" and wrote a History of the mission to Orissa: the site of the temple of Juggernaut (1835).
Pandit Godabarish Mishra was a poet and notable socialist from Odisha, India. He is known for his contribution to Odia literature.
Nilamadhava is a manifestation of Vishnu and Krishna featured in Hindu literature, with its origin in Odia tradition. According to traditional accounts, prior to his syncretism into Vaishnavism, this was the name of a deity made of sapphire that was venerated by the aboriginal Savara people, whose leader was known as Vishvavasu.
Prafulla Kar was an Odia musician, singer, lyricist, writer and columnist. He received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India in 2015 for his contribution in the field of arts.
Sambad is an Indian newspaper of Odia language which is published daily from Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is one of the largest circulated Odia newspapers in Odisha. It is published from the capital city of Bhubaneswar, as well as from Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balasore, Jajpur, Jeypore, and Angul The first edition of this newspaper was published on October 4, 1984, in Bhubaneswar. Editor since the foundation is Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, a businessman-politician.
Subrat Kumar Prusty is an Indian Odia-language scholar, activist, social entrepreneur, literary critic and author. He is Member Secretary of the Institute of Odia Studies and Research, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He was instrumental in preparing the research documents, advocating the awarding of Classical Language status to Odia, forming Central Institute of Classical Odia, Odia University and implementation of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954. He was awarded the Presidential Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman – 2019 for Classical Odia.
Akshay Kumar Parija is an Indian film maker known for his depictions of Odia culture and Odissi dance in his films. Originally a banker, he currently lives in Dubai.
Sashibhusan Rath (1885-1943) was a social reformer, industrialist, politician and founder-cum-editor of the Dainik ASHA newspaper, published from Brahmapur. He is famously known as Ganjam Byaghra which means The Tiger of Ganjam.
The Paik or Paika (Odia:ପାଇକ) is a Militia community, found in Odisha state of India.
Pala is a cultural folk ballad form of Odisha, derived from Sanskrit and Odia literature. It is performed by a group of five or six people, consisting of a 'gayaka', a 'bayaka' (drummer), and a 'palia' (chorus). The gayaka has a 'chamara' (fly-whisk) in his left hand, which he flourishes, and a pair of cymbals in his right hand. He narrates episodes from Puranic texts, punctuated with explanations. The chorus dance in small rhythmical steps along with the gayaka.
Swargadwara is a cremation ground and one of India's most auspicious mortuary sites. It is located at on the shore of Bay of Bengal, about a mile to the south of Jagannath Temple and southeastern area of the city Puri in Odisha. Where anyone can watch the cremations from a respectful distance. Generally the Hindus believe that, by cremated in Swargadwara, they will go to heaven for liberating their soul and will attain ultimate salvation.
Shyamamani Devi is a Odissi classical music vocalist composer. A disciple of Gurus Singhari Shyamsundar Kar and Balakrushna Dash, she is known for her popular renditions of classical Odissi music, such as Odissi, Chhanda, Champu, etc. authored by medieval Odia musician-poets such as Upendra Bhanja, Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha, Banamali Dasa, Gopalakrusna and others. She is also known for her renditions of light music such as traditional Odia folk music ,Odia film music and adhunika songs. In 2022, she was awarded the Padma Shri for he contributions to Odissi music.
