other temples in Odisha. Culture Cultural activities, including the annual religious festivals, in Puri are: The Puri Beach Festival held from 5 to 9 November every year, and the Shreekshetra Utsav held from 20 December to 2 January every year. The cultural programs include unique sand art, display of local and traditional handicrafts and food festival. In addition, cultural programs are held for two hours on every second Saturday of the month at the district Collector's Conference Hall near Sea Beach Police Station. Odissi dance, Odissi music and folk dances are part of this event. Odissi dance is the cultural heritage of Puri. This dance form originated in Puri from the dances performed by Devadasis (Maharis) attached to the Jagannath Temple who performed dances in the Nata mandapa of the temple to please the deities. Though the devadasi practice has been discontinued, the dance form has become modern and classical and is widely popular; many of the Odissi virtuoso artists and gurus (teachers) are from Puri. Some of the notable Odissi dancers are Kelucharan Mohapatra, Mayadhar Raut, Sonal Mansingh, and Sanjukta Panigrahi. Education Schools Bholanath Vidyapith Biswambhar Bidyapitha Blessed Sacrament High School Puri D.A.V Public School, Puri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Puri Puri Zilla School Colleges and universities Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology and Management Shri Jagannath Sanskrit University Sri Jagannath Medical College and Hospital Notable people Bidhu Bhusan Das - Academic and Vice Chancellor, DPI Odisha Gopabandhu Das – Social worker Nilakantha Das – Social activist Pankaj Charan Das – Odissi dancer Prabhat Nalini Das - pro Vice Chancellor, academician, feminist, Dean IIT Kanpur Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb - Odia King Charles Garrett – Cricketer Chakhi Khuntia – Freedom fighter Mayadhar Mansingh - Odia poet and writer Pinaki Misra - Politician Kelucharan Mohapatra – Odissi dancer Raghunath Mohapatra – Architect and sculptor Baisali Mohanty - ALC Global Fellow at University of Oxford, United Kingdom Rituraj Mohanty – Singer Sarat Kumar Mukhopadhyay - Poet, novelist Sudarshan Pattnaik – Sand Artist Jayee Rajguru - Freedom fighter Madhusudan Rao – Odia Poet Sudarshan Sahoo - Sculptor See also Chari Kshetra Pancha Tirtha, Puri Konark Dance Festival References Bibliography External links Puri TOURISM www.puri.nic.in – Official website of Puri District] Odisha Tourism OTDC Cities and towns in Puri district Hindu holy cities Port cities in India Hinduism Krishna temples Krishna Locations in Hindu mythology Holy cities Hindu pilgrimages Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Religious tourism