Bhubaneswar: The School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Management, (SHSSM), IIT Bhubaneswar is organizing a 3-day National seminar on “History and Heritage of Sun Worship- Scientific and Religious Implications of Sun – The Centre of Solar-system” during December 26-28, 2021 in hybrid mode. The inaugural event is scheduled to be held on 26th Dec, 2021 at Yatri Nivas, Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), Konark with the participation of many scholars, researchers and technocrats in the areas of History, Culture, and Literature and technology. The participants would be deliberating on diverse aspects of Sun worship with the Konarka temple as the thrust. The seminar aims to revisit the concept and the role of the sun in human existence in historical, scientific, literary and philosophical domains and connect with the recent scientific developments. The seminar is sponsored by Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi and Indian Oil Corporation, New Delhi and will be organized following Covid protocols
Shri Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Director, Indian Oil Corporation would be the Chief Guest and Prof. R.V. Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar will preside over the function. Professor Omkar Nath Mohanty, former Vice Chancellor, BPUT and Dr. R. Balakrishnan IAS, and the researcher historian who is the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister of Odisha will deliver the inaugural plenary addresses.
Prof. R.V. Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, speaking on the national seminar stated that re-visiting the ancient and recent philosophies of Sun worship across the globe, the historicity and the deliberating and discovering on the philosophical relationship and connect with the recent scientific and technological developments may not only be enlightening, but also may provide useful insights. It is also essential that we investigate into the scientific aspects and discover on what went in to creations like the Konark temple in full and also work with deterministic attention on preservation.
The event is being coordinated by Prof. Godabarisha Mishra, and Prof. Swarup Kumar Mohapatra, SHSSM. The three-day event comprises of invited expert presentations from 32 speakers from across the country and several audience participating in the hybrid event. The speakers are going to deliberate on the theme of the event and enlighten the participants with newer perspectives on the historical, religious and scientific implications of Sun worship in general and Konark temple in particular. The event with the unique theme and approach is sure to create lasting benchmark by unravelling new dimensions of art and culture of Odisha.