Odia singers before leaving for Chicago in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, June 27: A team of Odia musical geniuses flew to Chicago today afternoon. The six-member team has been invited by Odisha Society of Americas (OSA) to mark the society’s 45th annual convention that takes place in July every year.

Composer Abhijit Majumdar, who is arguably the most contemporary popular music director, is leading a team of five singers. While among male singers, Bishnu Mohan, Kabi Sitam and Manoj Dutta would be mesmerising the non-resident Odias with their mellifluous voice, two well-known female singers — Tapu Mishra and Sohini Mishra —would also regale the audience. The team has gone on a month long schedule where they will be performing on various occasions. They will first perform in Chicago and later move to Ohio.

All the singers are traveling on such an extensive and exhaustive tour for the very first time, but we are enthusiastic about the expedition.

“With rath yatra commencing this week, it is certainly a time when the heart of every Odia swells with pride. The organisers have informed me that the society members keen to know about the development of their homeland’s entertainment industry. I will sing both my soft and peppy numbers to delight them. My Sambalpuri songs are immensely loved and I believe that they will be appreciated by the Odias settled in America as well,” said Majumdar. “It will be interesting to know if they like the old Odia songs or are aware of the new ones. I will ask my audience members about their choice and sing according to that,” said Sohini Mishra. The main aim of the convention is to bring together people with roots in Odisha to share the pride of their culture and heritage and pass it on to the next generation. The annual convention also calls for merry-making while munching delicious food and singing songs and dancing on them. Invited by OSA, last year, six orphan girls stayed for two weeks and presented their Odissi recitals at New York, Chicago and Seattle. A few eminent Odias would also be felicitated on the occasion this year.