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Thakurani Jatra ends

BERHAMPUR: The 21-day-long festivities of goddess Narayani’s Thakurani Jatra at Phulbani in Kandhamal district and goddess Byaghradevi’s Thakurani Jatra at Bhanjangar in Ganjam district concluded amidst much fanfare on Wednesday night.

The Thakurani Jatra at Bhanjanagar is a triennial festival while the Thakurani Jatra festival is held every alternate year at Phulbani. During these festivals the reigning deities of these areas come out of their temples to be worshipped at temporary abodes.

During every evening the deities are taken in procession to different localities of the township. These festivals have similar rituals like the famous Thakurani Jatra of Berhampur.

Thousands gathered up at Bhanjanagar and Phulbani to witness the return journey of the deities to their temples. People also played holi with ‘Abir’ to make the procession of the deities more colourful. Traditional folk dance troupes performed famous animal dance ahead of the procession at Bhanjanagar. Adequate security arrangements have been made at Bhanjanagar and Phulbani for this return journey of deities which would mark the end of these long festivals.

During the last 21 days show of traditional folk theaters like Bharat Lila and Prahalad Natak were organised at different areas of Bhanjanagar. There were also musical sessions of ‘Bhanja sangeet’. It may be noted that the deity Byaghradevi is associated with the great Oriya poet Kavi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, the scion of Bhanja dynasty of Bhanjanagar.

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