BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said a joint endeavour to restore the past glory of Odisha would be the best tribute to Biju Patnaik. Naveen was addressing the book presentation ceremony of ‘The Tall Man Biju Patnaik’ at Mumbai. “It’s really tough to capture the life of a tall man like Biju Patnaik in just 184 pages of the book,” he said.Written by Sundar Ganesan, the book is a pictorial biography based on the life and times of illustrious and legendary Biju Patnaik. It talks vividly about the daredevil acts of the two-time Odisha chief minister and former union minister, his revolutionary role in India’s freedom struggle and beyond, his contribution to major world events, including the untold stories about the celebrated leader.
In a brief review of the publication Subroto Bagchi, noted author and Chairperson of Odisha Skill Development Authority said, Biju Patnaik was a perfect example of leadership. This is a book for the future generations, Bagchi said and added a book which talks less, shows much is a credible appreciation of the great personality.
Director, Global HR and CEO, Carbon Black Business at Aditya Birla Group Santrupt B Misra defined Biju Patnaik in six words as Swapna (dream), Sahasa (courage), Sankalpa (determination), Sanjoga (coincidence), Srusti (creation) and Sarthaka (success). Recalling that Biju Babu was the classmate of his father, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said, “In my college days when I was studying in Rajasthan, many people were not aware about Odisha. But, when we took the name of Biju Patnaik, they recognized. He was a big name and synonymous with the identity of the state”.
Eminent Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeon and MD of Asian Heart Institute Dr Ramakanta Panda said, “Biju Babu was a hero for us when we were in school and college days. He will continue to be a hero for the future generations.”A nostalgic Indian classical flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia remembered his first encounter with Biju Patnaik when he was invited to perform at Biju Babu’s Kalinga Tubes Company.