“Council of Cultural Growth and Cultural Relations (CCGR) “, popularly known as “The Universe”, Cuttack, has been active in various developmental activities of Odisha for the last four and half decades.
Many national and international seminars, friendship societies with different countries, celebration of Cuttack-1000 years etc., are some of the hallmarks of the organisation, which have brought glory to the state of Odisha.
The socio-economic programmes, which have been adopted by the Organization in collaboration with Govt. of Odisha and Govt. of India, have brought significant changes to the deprived people of our society. It has been a privilege for us that many national and international research scholars, social thinkers, educationists, social workers and respected dignitaries have graced the Organization on different occasions.
Just to name a few, late R. Venkataraman and late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former Presidents of India and late Chandra Shekhar, former Prime Minister of India, former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and other internationally acclaimed scholars were our esteemed guests on various occasions.
Our Organization’s first International Seminar on “Buddhism and Jainism” in 1976 had brought national and international attention to Odisha. The International Seminar was held in excavations of Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri, which are known as the Diamond Triangle of Odisha’s Buddhist sites. Eminent scholars like Prof A.L. Basham, Prof. Hermann Kulke, Dr. Kapila Vatsvayan, Mr. Ananda Kausalayan, Dr. W. Handke, Dr.K.R. Norman, Dr. S.R.Das, Prof. Satyawati Sulleiman, Prof. Lewis, Mr. James Beverige, Dr. D. C. Sircar, Dr. Heinzmode , Miss. A. Eschmann and many more have attended and contributed their papers in different International Seminars. We feel elated that the book on Buddhism and Jainism (International Seminar), which was published at that time, has been included in the publications by the Pali Society of Oxford University.
The people of Odisha and particularly of Cuttack feel proud about the magnificence of the Barabati Fort, the excavations of which could be made possible from the debris of the mound during the celebration of Cuttack 1000 years. It gives us a sense of nostalgia that during the last two decades of 20th Century, cultural exchange programmes and knowledge transformation with different countries created an intelligentsia hub in our campus of ‘The Universe’. Many senior citizens cutting across professions of the state still cherish the past glory of the organisation as it had significantly portrayed the intellectual and cultural domains of the state in national and international forums.
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