BHUBANESWAR: Carrying the hangover of euphoric celebrations during the Zero Hour here, revelers celebrated the first day of the New Year by visiting temples, parks and heritage sites Wednesday.
The Zero Hour December 31 was marked by glitzy shows, whirlwind dance sessions and electric DJ numbers amidst fun and frolic at various hotels and clubs in the city.
At Hotel Kalinga, belly dancers from Russia enthralled the audience with brilliant performances. DJs from India and abroad too livened up the night with groovy music and rhythmic EDM.
Sonali Priyadarshini belted out contemporary Odia and Hindi songs to augment the festive environment at Press Club of Odisha. Supermodels walked the ramp amidst upbeat music to the delight of visitors. Apart from this, a city-based musical band Invalid Code delivered a scinitillating performance on the occasion.
A lucky draw contest was organised at Hotel Empires where special gifts and cash prizes were handed out to winners. Artiste Pragyan Hota’s performance at Hotel Pushpak drew loud cheers from the audience.
Sohini Mishra and Amrita Mishra from Kolkata-based BB Dance made the audience groove to their tunes at ‘Twilight 2020’ at Hotel Swosti.
Flower stalls in the city were opened till midnight December 1 for people who wanted to wish their loved ones on the occasion. A flower seller Sanjay Singh said, “Our shop was open till 4 in the morning yesterday. We reopened it at 7 am today as we didn’t want anyone to miss out on buying flowers on New Year’s Day.”
Despite the chilly weather, people gathered in huge numbers at city’s picnic spots such as Jayadev Vatika, Shikarchandi, Dhauli, Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves among others to celebrate the first day of the New Year.
Long queues were seen outside Ram Temple, Unit III and Iskcon Temple, Nayapalli on the occasion. People sought the Lord’s blessings to start the New Year with a positive note. A visitor Jyotsna Tripathy said, “Every human being should seek blessings before beginning any venture.”
The newly-inaugurated themed park at Regional Science Centre saw more than 2000 children celebrate the New Year by enjoying the floral ambience of the site.
Arindam Ganguly, OP
