Curtains down on Sital Sasthi festival

SAMBALPUR: Defying the scorching heat, lakhs of devotees witnessed the concluding day rituals of Sital Sasthi festival in Sambalpur on Tuesday. The divine couple - Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati - returned to their abode in a grand procession after their marriage was solemnised on Sunday night.

This year, around 9,000 artistes from across the country were invited by Jharuapada, Nandapada, Mudipada, Badbazar and Thakurpada Sital Sasthi Yatra Committees to perform in the carnival, also known as home-coming procession of the divine couple. The procession started on Monday night with the artistes accompanying the chariots carrying the idols performing all along the route to the temple till the wee hours on Tuesday. The procession resumed after a break and concluded late in the afternoon even as the temperature hovered around 39.4 degree Celsius.

Apart from various folk dances of the State including Ghumra, Karma, Medha Nacha, Koya dance, Kalangi and Ghoda Nacha, performances like Chhau dance from West Bengal, Bihu from Assam, Siddhi Dhamal from Gujarat and Jhanj from Chhattisgarh surcharged the atmosphere.

This apart, ‘Rupa Parbha’ (silver backdrop) mounted on the chariot of Loknath Baba of Jharuapada was a major attraction of this year festival. The silver backdrop has been designed by Biswanath Dey and his sons Ajaya and Bijay of Cuttack at a cost of `75 lakh by utilising 1.35 quintal of silver. Moreover, tableau based on mythology, various burning issues and characters were also part of the carnival.

With different organising committees taking different routes to the temples, where the carnivals culminates, people had to move from one area to the other to have a glimpse of the newly-wed divine couple.

The marriage ceremony of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is held on the sixth day of the bright fortnight in the Hindu month of Jyestha hence Sital Sasthi. The festival is celebrated to welcome the much-awaited monsoon after blistering heat.