Bhubaneswar: Culture Minister Suryavansi Suraj today felicitated the winners of the ‘Kala O Camera’ photography competition at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Organised by the Odisha Lalit Kala Academi in collaboration with the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, the competition attracted more than 500 contestants who submitted over 600 photographs based on three themes — Tangible Heritage of Odisha, Intangible Heritage of Odisha and Endangered Art of Odisha.
The top ten talents were selected and awarded prizes. The first, second and third place winners received Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, while those placing fourth to tenth were given Rs 3,000 each by the Odisha Lalit Kala Academi.Debadatt Behera secured the first position for his photograph titled “Whisper of the Mist.” Ajay Mohan Sahu for “Pratyushere Mukteswar” and Chinmay Kumar Nayak for “Faith in God” shared the second place, while Dharma Sangram Amanta finished third.
Minister Suraj congratulated all the winners and participants, praising the high-quality effort to bring Odisha’s art, architecture, sculpture and heritage alive through photography. A jury committee comprising eminent photographers Prafulla Chandra Dhir, Surendra Kumar Sahu, Dilip Kumar, Dhir Samant and Ashish Kumar Jena selected the winners. The Minister also felicitated the jury members during the programme.
On the occasion, a photo exhibition titled “Kala O Camera – Ama Kala, Ama Asmita” featuring the best photographs was formally inaugurated by the Minister, who later visited the display and encouraged the artists.
Among those present were Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, Secretary of the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department Dr. Vijay Ketan Upadhyay, Secretary of Odisha Lalit Kala Academi Dr. Devyani Bhuyan and Secretary of Sangeet Natak Akademi Dr. Chandra Shekhar Hota.
