Calcutta, April 6: Ritika Patnaik, who has appeared for her Class X exam from a Calcutta school, finds her Odisha connect in the rhythmic bhangis and mudras of Odissi.

Every time the 16-year-old Ritika performs the Tolagi Gopa Danda, an abhinaya, she takes a divine pleasure in depicting the celestial love story between Radha and Krishna - one of the prevalent themes of the classical dance form.

Like Ritika, Shreelekha Swain, 9, and Ipsit Spandan Nayak, 14, too, performed on the stage, showcasing Odia culture at Vande Utkal Janani, an event held at the Science City mini auditorium in Calcutta on Sunday.

While Shreelekha danced to the tune of an Odia film song, Chulbuli Prajapati, Ipsit played the popular Akshaya Mohanty number Uddi uddi jaare on synthesiser.

The event was organised by the members of a Calcutta-based Odia community, Odias@Kolkata, where around 350 non-resident Odias assembled to share their journey of pain and pleasure.

The event began with Mangalacharan, a dance form where the artiste first offers prayer to Lord Jagannath, as well as to Lord Ganesh, who is believed to be the bighnaharta (destroyer of all obstacles).

Stressing on why it became imperative to form a conglomerate of Odias staying across Calcutta, community secretary Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra, 44, who is also the CEO of a Calcutta-based manpower recruitment firm, said in his introductory speech: "Odias@Kolkata has been formed with an objective of community networking, revisiting as well as showcasing the rich Odia culture and heritage."

And the best of Odia heritage was brought out when the Odissi group dance took to the stage.

Sumitra Ghosh and troupe presented a recital, showcasing the intricacies of the dance form, which is based on tribhangi (an Odissi gesture). Their rhythmic presentation involved stamping of the foot as well as striking various postures as found in Indian sculptures. The troupe cast an immediate spell on the audience with their artistic movement consisting of bhanga, abhanga, atibhanga and tribhanga.

The recital was followed by performance by the community members and their families. The highlight of the programme was, however, the performance by the famous Sankha group and Ranappa (Odia folk dance troupe) from Berhampur.

Exponent Pabitra Kumar Mahapatra and his group performed the Gangeswara Jugala Sankha Vadya. The artistes kept on blowing the conches without a break while performing intricate body movements at the same time.

In Ranappa, which has its roots in martial arts, artistes staged mock fights choreographed to the rhythm of drums. Throughout the show, the dancers exhibited their skills while balancing on stilts.

Also renowned singers Pranab Patnaik, Banaj Mohanty and Mitalli Chinara and dancers from Ollywood staged some Odissi and Sambalpuri dance recitals apart from rendering quite a few songs at the event held as part of the Odisha Day celebrations.

Fully aware about the latest developments in Odisha, president of the community Guru Prasad Pattanaik, 55, who is also the director of a consultancy firm, said: "Our aim is to form a forum of various professionals working in Calcutta having affiliation to the native state and Odia language and create an apolitical group for taking part in intellectual pursuits."

Calcutta, being the nearest metro city to Odisha, hosts approximately two lakh Odia professionals drawn from the corporate, government and the medical sectors. A large number of entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals, too, are a part of the Odia population in the city.

Therefore, with a view to provide them with a single platform to inculcate Odia tradition and values in the next generation, Odias@Kolkata was born in July last year. Started as an informal WhatsApp group called OdiaKhatti with a handful of only 10 members to share all kinds of information, news and quizzes on Odia history and culture, today Odias@Kolkata has grown to become a strong 200-member community.

"The community's success would have been impossible to attain had the women not played a big role in organising the get-togethers where all the members take part with full vigour, fervour and zeal," said Adhar Lal Chand, 63, the group mentor, who is also the former chief commissioner of the income tax department.

The group aims to organise social activities among the members and their families to retain bonding among the community. On regular intervals, it holds seminars and knowledge sharing sessions.

"Vande Utkala Janani is an initiative by the members to unite as a Odia group to celebrate Utkal Divas and showcase the large cultural diversity of Odisha in Calcutta," said the community's cultural secretary Udayan Patnaik, 44, who is also the regional head of a private company.

The community also extends any kind of possible support to any of its members during crisis. It also helps the poor and underprivileged Odias settled in and around Calcutta and financially dependent on the community's fund created for the purpose.

Though initially the group was born to provide a social platform for entertainment and interaction, over the period, it has become an integral part in the lives of its members. It has created an emergency response team to assist and guide the members and their families in case of any emergency, including medical, police as well as legal assistance.

"We provide interest-free short-term loan to the community's needy members, which, however, has to be decided by the core committee. Besides, we also provide financial assistance or donation to any natural calamity-hit villages of Odisha," said the group's legal adviser Suman Dey, 55, who is the chief of legal and commercial services at a private company.

Besides, focussing on Odia culture has not narrowed down the community's boundary - which firmly believes in universal fraternity, as in its last cultural event held on January 11, members of other communities had received a cordial invitation to experience the flair of Odia culture.

Mohapatra said: "Odias@Kolkata is a family where even non-Odias, who are born and brought up in Odisha or those who strongly believes in Odia culture, can also become members."