- Suryabanshi Suraj visits Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre at Adalaj
- Minister explores scope for deeper Gujarat-Odisha cooperation in higher education, skills and entrepreneurship
- JCARC showcases traditional Jagannath rituals, Skill Development Centre and cultural initiatives
- Office-bearers pitch JCARC as Odisha Government’s nodal centre in Gujarat
NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, AUG 13
Where the sacred rhythms of Puri meet the enterprise and educational energy of Gujarat, a new cultural conversation is taking shape. Odisha’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Higher Education, Sports and Youth Services, and Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Suryabanshi Suraj, visited the Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre (JCARC) at Adalaj, Gandhinagar, opening fresh possibilities for a deeper Gujarat-Odisha partnership spanning culture, education, skills and entrepreneurship.
The Minister, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, was accompanied by Vice-Chancellors of Odisha universities during his visit to the JCARC complex, where he visited the Jagannath Temple and participated in the evening Arati.
The visit assumed special cultural significance as the Minister was apprised of the temple’s adherence to the traditional Puja Vidhi and rituals associated with Lord Jagannath at Puri, creating a distinctive spiritual and cultural bridge between Odisha and Gujarat.
A slice of Puri in the heart of Gujarat
The Minister also visited the adjoining Skill Development Centre, interacting with instructors and students and taking note of JCARC’s initiatives aimed at creating opportunities in skill development and knowledge enhancement.
He appreciated the efforts of JCARC in preserving and promoting Odia culture while simultaneously building avenues for education, professional development and community engagement in Gujarat.
The interaction with JCARC chairman Maheswar Sahu and other office-bearers centred on expanding cooperation between the two States in skill-based training, entrepreneurship, FinTech education, academic and professional knowledge exchange, and promotion of Odia culture and heritage.
JCARC pitches a bigger Gujarat-Odisha bridge
Sahu highlighted JCARC’s potential to emerge as a dynamic platform connecting institutions, professionals and communities of Odisha and Gujarat through academic exchanges, professional delegations and collaborative programmes.
The discussions underlined the possibility of using JCARC not merely as a cultural institution but as a wider knowledge and engagement platform capable of linking the two States across multiple sectors.
‘Make JCARC Odisha’s nodal centre in Gujarat’
JCARC office-bearers Badri Mohapatra, Ajaya Das and Ashok Samal urged the Minister to consider the Centre as a nodal centre for the Government of Odisha in Gujarat.
They said such recognition could provide an institutional framework for sustained cooperation in art and culture, higher education, innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge exchange and skill development.
The proposal, they emphasised, could give a more structured and enduring dimension to the relationship between Odisha and Gujarat while creating a common platform for institutions, students, professionals, entrepreneurs and the wider Odia community.
The Minister’s visit thus brought together heritage and higher education, spirituality and skills, and tradition and innovation, reinforcing JCARC’s emerging role as a cultural and knowledge bridge between Odisha and Gujarat.
