Nuakhai bhetghat: Western Odisha set to soak in celebration

SAMBALPUR: Markets in the Sambalpur district witnessed a huge crowd as people stepped out to shop for Odisha’s major agrarian festival Nuakhai beginning Thursday. This year, the festival is all set to be celebrated with pomp and grandeur after a gap of two years.

The preparation for the festival began a fortnight ago with the cleaning of houses in rural areas with a mixture of cow dung and mud on the walls. While every house in the villages wears a festive look, the paddy fields shine green with standing crops during the festival.

Similarly, in urban areas, the celebrations of Nuakhai include wearing of new clothes, worshipping the presiding deity and having a sumptuous lunch with the entire family, apart from the usual rituals.

This year the first harvested crop will be offered to goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur at the stipulated Lagna (auspicious moment) between 10:56 am and 11:10 am on Thursday. Rituals at Maa Samaleswari temple will be conducted by the priests of the temple in the morning as per tradition.

Members of most families were seen busy preparing the typical delicacies for the occasion such as ‘Mug bara’, ‘Mug mada’, ‘Chaula mada’, ‘Kakara pitha’ and ‘kheeri’. A local, Ajit Bohidar said, “Nuakhai had been a low-key affair for the last two years. However, this year everyone is filled with enthusiasm. Many who could not return home due to Covid during the last two years are back home to celebrate with family and friends.”

The festival is celebrated with fervour, especially in western Odisha. Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur, Patneswari in Balangir, Sureshwari in Sonepur, Sekharbasini in Sundargarh and Manikeswari in Kalahandi are offered puja as the presiding deities. On the other hand, Sambalpur city was soaked in festivity on Ganesh Chaturthi on Wednesday.

The major attraction this year is a 16-feet tall Lord Ganesh idol made of laddoos by Natraj Club which has been organising the Puja for the last 47 years. Besides a Covid-themed Ganesh pandal at Hatpada in the city also drew a huge crowd.