Rituals & literary meets greet Oriya new year

BUBANESWAR/ BERHAMPUR/ DHENKANAL/ KEONJHAR: Maha Bishuba Sankranti and the Oriya New Year was celebrated across the state with much fanfare and gaiety on Thursday. People thronged to temples in large numbers to pray for a prosperous year ahead.
Special prayers, yagnas, distribution of pana (a special Oriya beverage), free food in temples, literary activities such as recitation of poems and cultural programmes marked the celebration of the day that also coincided with the birth day of Lord Hanuman.With this the 21-day long annual Jhamu Jatra came to an end across the state.
“The special significance of this day is that Oriya calendar year begins with the month of Baisakh and new Oriya almanacs also launched from this day,” said Muktikama Nathsharma, a priest and astrologer.
A competition of Pana was organised among women in Madhusudan Nagar. “It is a traditional drink of Oriyas and has special significance on this day. Though it has some basic ingredients such as stone apple, milk, cheese, curd, sugar and sweets, but we thought of making a competition. We have also invited people to relish free drink,” said Binay Kumar sahu, one of the organizers.
In Berhampur, the 21-day long Thakurani festival came to end on Thursday and the devotees, who joined in the Nata to appease God Shiva and Shakti, ended their ritual on the day. Several literary organisations in the town welcomed the Oriya New Year by conducting recitation of poems and holding literary programmes. Nabina Sahitya Anusthana and Kalinga Sahitya Samaj organised such programmes to celebrate the New Year. “We are celebrating the day with the literary activities for last several years. The New Year welcomed with wishing happiness said Rabi Rath, secretary, Nabina Sahitya Anusthana.
In Keonjhar it was a unique tradition where mat replicas of deities known as “Pati God” visit the city in a procession on the occasion. Ramakrushna Mohapatra a senior citizen of the locality said “It is a very old tradition. The ‘Pati Gods’ from different villages assemble at Baladevjew temple in the evening and after night-long festivities, they return in procession to their respective villages.”
Similarly in Dhenkanal curtain came down on the annual Jhamu Yatra with hundreds of devotees clad in saffron and yellow garbs rolled on ground and walked on ember, as mark of their devotion to God, on the auspicious occasion. Danduas performed Danda Nacha, a folk form practiced by villagers to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti offered their last prayer in front of different temples. They performed several dances like Dhuli Danda, Pani Danda and Agni Danda dance forms on dust, water and fire bed respectively.
“We have arranged a maha yagna for 48 hours as Mahabishuv sankranti is a grand occasion for goddess. We have prepared 3000 litre of Pana for distribution to 5000 devotees after offering before goddess”, said Ram Chandra Mohapatra priest of Brahmanidevi temple in the city.