I want to be a world chess champion

Kiran Manisha Mohanty became the first Oriya to become a Grandmaster after winning the Third Woman Grandmaster Norm in the Parachute Advanced International Chess Tournament held recently in Bangladesh.

Subrat Pati in a tete-a-tete with the chess grandmaster:

Q: Please share some memories of your childhood.
A: At the age of five, I started learning Odissi dance and at the age of eight, I completed my course in Odissi classical dance.

Q: When did you start playing chess?
A: At the age of nine, I started playing chess inspired by my parents. I took chess seriously at the age of 12.

Q: Which is your memorable tournament so far?
A: The National Women ‘A’-2007 is my most memorable tournament as I became the joint champion and also got my first WGM norm.

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Reading books and listening to good music.

Q: Which has been your toughest game so far?
A: A game with Soumya Swaminathan at the National Women 'A'-2009 held in Chennai. It was the last round and if I won the game I would get my 2nd WGM norm and my position would be third. So I was really tensed while playing the game. But my joy knew no bounds when I finally won the game.

Q: Who is your inspiration?
A: My father Sri Kishore Chandra Mohanty.

Q: How do you manage your studies?
A: I try to maintain a fine balance between chess and studies though it is difficult to manage both at the same time.

Q: What is your ambition in life?
A: To become a women world chess champion.

Q: If would not have been a chess player, which career would you have chosen?
Answer: I aspire to become an aeronautical engineer.

Bhajan Samaroha “Jagannath ho” held at Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: On the eve of Snana Purnima in the honour of the legendary Bhajan Samrat Bhikari Bal a musical programme “Jagannath Ho” was held at Jaydev Bhawan here under the aegis of Sambhabana a news magazine. While the programme was presided over by the advisor of the organisation and noted columnist Sudarsan Das, the former minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan inaugurated it as Chief Guest and noted singer Pranab Pattanaik, best Odianee of 2010 Dr. Sujata Mohanty and Vice President of Bhasa O Sanskruti Samaj Prabhod Hota graced as Guests of Honour. At the out set Deba Prasad Parija, Editor of the Magazine had delivered the introduction to guests with key note address.

The main attention of the programme was the singing of “Kotha Bhoga khia he chaka akhia” by the child artist Sarthak Mohapatra and “Jagannatho ho kichhi magu nahin tate” by Arabinda Muduli. Among others Sagarika Patanaik, HarapriyaPati, Pradip Dash, Dr. Santosh Dash, Barnali Hota, Saswati MIshra, Priya Darshini Sahoo, Amruta Amrutayanee, Abhshek, Pratysh, Dilip Mohanty, Shankar Das & Minati Mohanty sang the song of Bhikari Bal. The stage was managed by Smruti Mohanty, Shashiprava Das & Madhulita Parida.

ORISSA'S NIGHTINGLE IRA MOHANTY

Orissa rocks in tune with her honeyed song, ‘Mu to dream girl’. Rock or rap, Odissi or classical, bhajan or modern, she delivers it deftly. Meet Orissa’s nightingale, Ira Mohanty. A performer with panache, she pours passion into her performance that fixes her fans pirouetting in the dream domain. Born to be a singer, she sprang a surprise by singing at the tender age of two when a baby begins to babble. Madhulita Mohanty, popularly known as Ira Mohanty, is now a household name who astonishingly intoned without flaw the strains of ‘Hrudayara ei sunyataku’ at the tender age of four.

When the sole familiar female voice of Trupti Das went missing leaving behind a raucous monotony in the ensemble of Oriya song and music in the late 1990s, a titillating timbre of an unusual kind possessed by this prolific singing bird is heard rippling through the void. Unlike others gradually graduating from album notes, she made her debut directly in a film entitled ‘Sakal Tirtha To Charane’ in 1996. Back and back, she went on singing in films like Mana Rahigala Tumari Thare (2000), Mo Kola To Jhulana (2003), Rakhi Bandhili Mo Rakhiba Mana (2003), Bahudibe Mo Jaga Balia (2004), O My Love (2006) and Tu Thile Mo Dara Kahaku (2010), besides many other films, devotional (bhajan) and modern albums.

She was born in Bhubaneswar. Her father, Jitendra Mohanty of Balakati in Khurda was working as a supervisor in the Orissa Assembly. Shuttling between Bhubaneswar and Balakati as a child she imbibed and embellished her aptitude earnestly. The advantage of being born at Balakati, the birthplace of legendary singer-composer Sangeet Sudhakar Balakrushna Dash as much inspired her as her uncle Sarat Rath and her mother Kalpana Mohanty, both of whom hailed from a musically inclined family.

She was fascinated by the sweet south Indian and Hindi songs while she was a student at Subhadra Mahtab Girls’ High School in Bhubaneswar. She could, in those days, ape all Bollywood singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Subha Mudgal and other legends, and inspire awe and admiration among her friends. This love for songs rendered by the stalwarts pulled her to perform on stage which has always proved mesmerizing with fresh nuances from her delivery and disposition.

When she joined BJB College in Bhubaneswar for doing +2, she took music as one of her combinations. This brought her in close contact with her music teacher Guru Sri Chittaranjan Pani, a front-ranking exponent of Odissi and classical music.

The perfect musical chemistry with noted composer Malaya Mishra bought the best out of her, although she has sung compositions of almost all eminent music directors of Orissa.

She has won innumerable awards in her singing career spanning a little more than a decade. Besides being honoured by Zee TV Saregama, she has bagged the prestigious Cine Critic Association Award, Chalachitra Jagat Samman and Banichitra Samman several times, besides innumerable awards for her inimitable singing. She has also been bestowed with OMPTWA Award, ETV Best Playback Singer Award 2010, Taranga Cine Award 2010 and many other prestigious awards.

Aalo Mora Kandhei was challenging role: Archita
Charming tomboy or blusing belle, the forte of this young artiste is really prolific. Oriya actress Archita in a tete-a-tete with Subrat Pati -





Q: Would you kindly tell about the movie you lately acted in?
A: ‘Aalo Mora Kandhei’. It is now running in theatres successfully.
Q: What are the highlights of this movie to attract the audience?
A: It has a strong storyline …family story with a lot of sentiments. It must and surely catch the fancy of the audience.
Q: Tell about your character in it.
A: I play the role of an advocate, a very well-known and professional person. It is a challenging role in my career.
Q: What was your experience during shooting of this film?
A: Initially I was terribly afraid of it. I had no experience of a lawyer’s job. They have a total different disposition I am unfamiliar with. There was a long dialogue running pages. I had to get it by heart. It was also fun to beat Mihir and Siddhant, my co-artists with witty arguments in the made-up court room.
Q: ‘Aalo Mora Kandhei’ is one of the four films released in this Rajo festival. Will your film fair well financially?
A: More films releasing on one occasion is certainly a good sign for our Oriya film industry. The number does not matter, only excellence counts. All these films are well advanced technically.

Q: How do you land a role in film?

A: I was well into modeling before I acted in my first film, ‘Oh, My Love’ in 2005.
Q: Who are your favourite stars?
A: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Anubhav, Barsha, Priya.
Q: Who do you love to act with?

A: (She ruminates) I am very comfortable with Anubhav and Sabyasachi. I feel at ease with Akash also.
Q: What would you have been, were you not a film actress?
A: I am doing B Tech now. After one year, I will be an engineer.
Q: As the reigning queen of the Oriya film industry, what is your message to your fans?
A: Many thanks for your commendation. My message to my fans, “Watch my film, Aalo Mora Kandhei”.