Berhampur: Around 20 girls students of St Xavier School here made an image of Utkal Gouraba Madhusudan Das using 500 plastic straws on the eve of Utkal Diwas. The students of Class VII to IX took around 4 to 5 hours to make it, said Rashmita Dalai, the teacher who guided students in making it.
Utkal Gouraba Madhusudan Das was one of the frontline leaders for formation of a separate Odisha state. Due to the selfless struggle of the leaders, including Das, Odisha became a separate state on language basis on April 1, 1936. “Our students created the image of Das to pay tribute to the great Odia leader,” she said.
She mentioned that this practice started in the school in the last two years. Last year, the school students created the image of Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, another leader, using ice-cream sticks on Utkal Diwas eve. “The practice not only enhances the artistic skills of students but also creates a sense of patriotism among them,” said Dalai. They also learn about the leaders who struggled for formation of modern Odisha, she added.