The journey started on 5th October 2021 when Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) signed a non-binding partnership agreement with 24 diaspora organisations (named as the Federation of Indian Organizations – FSIO) to work with a united voice on issues affecting the South Asian community in Singapore. The signing ceremony took place on the side-lines of SICCI's Fireside Chat with Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister and former Prime Minister.

Moving ahead in this journey, SICCI organized a gala dinner event on 12 May 2022, graced by Honorable President Halimah Yacob highlighting once again the government’s support and focus on addressing the South Asian community’s issues.

It was a proud moment for us all that on behalf of OSS I had the privilege to sign the MoU with the Emeritus SM and former PM and to receive the memento from the Honorable President of Singapore.

During our upcoming AGM, the OSS committee would share more on how we can leverage these platforms for the benefits of our community here. Please stay tuned!

 

 

On 16th April 2022, Odia Society of Singapore’s Utkal Divas was a spectator to a marvellous concert of different styles of dance which despite being online, transformed the event into a memorable and enchanting one. Ranging from dances on modern remixed songs to pure classical pieces, the performances were beautifully choreographed as a group or individually by Guru Sasmita Pal, T Vani, Swati Acharya, and Atasi Rath.

 

A tribute to the internationally acclaimed classical dance of our Odisha, up next was an Odissi dance performed by Shreyanshi Pradhan, Ria Mohanty, Preeti Dash and Litali Mohapatra who are students of Guru Debaprasad Nrutya Dhara, Singapore under the guidance of Guru Sasmita Pal. The graceful and talented dancers took our breaths away with their portrayal of Naba Durga, the nine manifestations of Goddess Durga.

 

Starting off the series of dances was an entrancing dance based on the Odia Bhajan(s) Sajani and Suna Jhulana, depicting a mesmerising leela of Shri Krishna and Radharani, which was beautifully performed by our adorable dancers, Saanvi Patnaik and Aaradhita Parida Singh(Misthi).

 

 

The next performance had us dancing to the rhythms of the Odia Remix song, Mora Mana Udi Jaye as it was full of energy and performed with a rockstar attitude by Alisha Maharana, Aayesha Swain and Shanvi Mohapatra. The enthusiasm from the kids brought upon a smile to all of our faces.

After a dhamakedar performance, up next was one of Odisha’s favourite folk dances with a modern upbeat twist to the Sambalpuri song named Rasia. The power-packed duo, Atasi Rath and Swati Acharya, brought the house down with their vibrant moves and radiant smiles.

 

Ending the night with an exhilarating performance in the dance segment, our evergreen OSS Ladies, Swagatika Biswal(Lipi), Sanchita Biswal and Debolina Das had us all grooving along to their dynamic dance to Rani Guri and remix of Paad Re Paad Chhanda.

 

 

The mood in the evening went high with our own OSS singers Turpti Panda, Salony Das, Swagatika Biswal, Manaswani Kar, Sara Samanwita Sahu, Disha Kiran and Lagnajit Patnaik with their melodious voice. They did a fantastic job by creating the mood with Bhajans, and featured soulful and melodious Ollywood and Bollywood song performances. 

 

 

One of the exciting segments was the innovative and engaging virtual comedy skit – THE NOISEHOUR performed by the OSS Youth Group members Abhishek Routray, Puja Mohanty, Stuti Mohanty and Kshyati Padhi well accompanied by our youth and cultural leads Rupak Sahu and Lagnajit Patnaik.

 

 

The whole event was well orchestrated wonderfully by our two anchors - Pratyusha Hota and Sara Samanwita Sahu who kept our audiences engaged through out.

We will forever be thankful to all the talented performers, choreographers, anchors and volunteers for working so hard to light up our evenings with their graceful and jabardast performances.

OSS’s Support in People’s Association’s Porridge Distribution Exercise 

Started in 2015 under the “Happy Project” community service initiative, Immigrant  Association (IA) partners have partnered with the CC Malay Activity Executive Committees (MAEC) organising porridge distribution projects and other Ramadan activities to reach out to  the less fortunate of all races and religions. Odia Society of Singapore (OSS) is one of the  privileged IA partners of People’s Association. We participated in the Porridge Distribution/  Ramadan projects those were carried out during the month of Ramadan from 3 April to 2 May  2022.