Odishatv Bureau

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Odissi exponent Sonal Mansingh and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra took oath as Rajya Sabha members today. Both of them were nominated to the upper house of the Parliament on July 14 by the President of India.

Mansingh is considered as one of India’s foremost exponents of Indian Classical Dance forms and has been performing Odissi and also Bharatnatyam for over six decades.

She was earlier awarded Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Odissi dance.

On the other hand, Mohapatra is famous for his contribution towards preservation of traditional sculpture and ancient monuments. He has also worked on the beautification of the Sri Jagannath Temple, Puri.

He was earlier awarded Padma Shri in 1975 and Padma Bhushan & Padma Vibhushan in 2001 and 2013, respectively.

Speaking on the occasion Mohapatra said "I have to work towards preservation of Aditya Narayan temple also known as the Konark temple. This will send a message across Odisha that sculptors in the age of Konark had worked really hard and there is a need to train young sculptors of today."

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