Odia diaspora in Australia holds E-Sammilani

Canberra: ORIOZ, an association of Odias living in Australia, celebrated its two-yearly conclave amid coronavirus pandemic through the online bridge.

ORIOZ was founded in 2002 to unite Odias in Australia and has been celebrating Odia culture and festivals since then introducing more and more Australian to Odia culture.

The Australian Odia diaspora have been gathering once in every two year to feel at home with various cultural programmes.

This year, the coronavirus outbreak posed as an obstacle in assembly of the Australian Odias to participate in the biennial conclave. But the members stood strong to celebrate the occasion on the prescribed date through online bridge.

Around 400 people of 148 families including children celebrated the occasion through online video conferencing app.

The committee members Sulipta Tripathy and Mumtaz Lenka in association with representatives of various states in Australia coordinated this two hour long programme.

Various troupes performed cultural activities which assembled and telecast through online app. As part of this celebration, the old executive body also transferred responsibilities to the new executive body members.

During this Covid-19 pandemic, while everyone is maintaining social distancing to combat the disease, such efforts by Orioz connected all the members and this will be a memory to be cherished forever, said ORIOZ President Dr. Nalini Pati.