King Kansa's 'reign' comes to an end

SAMBALPUR: The curtains came down on Bargarh's famous Dhanu Yatra on Tuesday. The 11-day-long festival, which began on December 23, ended with the 'death' of the tyrant Kansa and the 'coronation' of Ugrasen.
During the Dhanu Yatra festival, one of the largest open air theatre festivals in the world, Bargarh transforms into Mathura. The Jeera river of Bargarh becomes the river Yamuna and Amapali, which is located on the outskirts of Bargarh town, transforms into Gopapura. Kansa rules the small western Odisha town for eleven days. Kansa's various ruthless policies, his death and the merry exploits of Krishna are enacted at 14 sites in Mathura and Gopapura. "During Dhanu Yatra, Kansa moves around the city, catches offenders on the streets and slaps fines on them. He also enters to the government offices and pulls up undisciplined officials. The residents become his obedient subjects. The rule of Kansa symbolizes the oppressive rule of British and the coronation of Ugrasen symbolizes the beginning of democracy," said Rabi Panda, a member of the publicity committee of Dhanu Yatra. The festival came into existence in 1947 and has, since then, been an emblem of the triumph of good over evil.

This year, the significance of the festival was Bhubaneswar Pradhan, who played the role of Kansa. Selected after an audition that saw 23 aspirants, Pradhan performed the role of Kansa after a gap of 17 years. Earlier, Pradhan had performed the role of the demon king in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.