Festivals & Events News Updates

Earlier, the SJTA had announced to conduct Covid test (RTPCR) of all sevayats and others who will be engaged for the conduct of rituals for the upcoming Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath.

To minimise the spread of Covid-19, servitors, police personnel and officials of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), who are set to take part in the annual Rath Yatra festival, will undergo RT-PCR tests from today

A petition has been filed in the Orissa High Court seeking permission for conducting the famous Rath Yatra of Sidhha Baladevjew in Kendrapara in the lines of the festival at Puri Shree Jagannath Temple.

The Kendrapara district unit of BJP on Friday requested Odisha government and the Centre to take necessary steps to allow the conduct of the upcoming Rath Yatra dedicated to the Siddha Baladevjew in Kendrapara in the lines of the organisation of the festival at Puri Srimandir.

The construction of three gigantic chariots for Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra, the annual car festival of the Holy Trinity scheduled to be held on July 12, is underway in Puri in full swing. The construction work is being carried out at the 'Ratha Khala' (traditional temple workshop) located on both sides of Bada Danda (Grand Road) in front of the Jagannath temple office and the Sri Nahar palace. The Jagannath temple office said that fixing of 'Kantaa' in the 'Pancha Dandaa', fitting of 'Garagara' and fixing of 4 Nahaka' in the chariots at the Ratha Khala is already complete. The making of 4 Potala Khambi', 2 'Saala' and 7 'Jokha' for Prathama Bhuin of the chariots is also being done.

The testing will be done at four stages --before Snana Yatra, before Gundicha Yatra, before Bahuda Yatra and lastly, 15 days after Niladri Bije.

Puri will be divided into 7 zones and special arrangements are being made to ensure that the Sevayats are not hassled during the conduct of the Snana Yatra rituals.

Even as the Odisha government has announced partial unlock measures in the State after decline in cases of Covid, the Puri Jagannath Temple will remain out of bounds for the public till July 25.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has planned for a illumination project to enhance the beauty of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri even more. A technical team of the ASI on Tuesday toured the Srimandir and reviewed the detail arrangements for installing better light system in and around the main temple.

Poda Pitha is a unique and authentic dish of Odia tradition which is especially made during the Raja Festival. It is said Poda Pitha is the essence of Raj Fesitval and without it, the festival is tasteless and colourless. There are many variations of poda pitha and every Odia household has a unique recipe of its own.

This festival of Odisha is celebrated for three days and this year Raja Parba is being celebrated from June 14 to June 16. The specialty of this festival is that women are accorded due respect and the festival is a reminder to consider periods or menstruation not a dirt but to be revered celebrated.

It is this time of the year when unmarried girls don new clothes, makeup, mehendi and take to swings while merrymaking with friends. Raja Parba is a three-day festival to celebrate womanhood. Raja is a mass festival but due to the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, people in the State this year have preferred to celebrate at their homes with their dear and near ones. Let's take a tour across Odisha to find out how people are celebrating the festival while keeping with the pandemic protocol.

It is believed, that both go through menstrual periods during the time and so festivities are marked to celebrate the occasion.

Once the tourism sector in Odisha revives after the Covid pandemic, a visual treat would greet the tourists when they step into Raghurajpur, the heritage village of Puri. Amidst a raging pandemic that has drawn curtains on the livelihood of the artists, Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with the state culture department came up with an innovative idea and organised a traditional Mural camp (pattachitra) at Raghurajpur from June 9 to 13, 2021. Families of as many as 150 artisans participated in this camp by painting the walls and the front portion of their own houses. The Akademi will provide Rs 10,000 remuneration to each family while five best works would receive awards, informed Akademi president and acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.

The second wave of Covid-19 has dampened the spirit of Raja festival in Odisha. With the three-day festival starting on Monday, people have no scope to enjoy the festival outdoors as mostly they will be confined inside their houses due to Covid-19 induced lockdown