Odisha Bali Yatra 2024: Know How Asia's Largest Open Trade Fair Got Its Name

Bali Yatra, one of the biggest fairs in Odisha, is held every year at Gadagadia Ghat on the Mahanadi River in Cuttack City, remembering our rich maritime history.
The historic festival has connection with the ancient mariner merchants of Odisha (Sadhaba Puas) and their voyages.
This splendid trade fair kick-start on the auspicious occasion of Kartika Purnima day.  
This historic ten-day-long extravaganza witnesses a huge footfall of visitors coming from in and outside the state.
In ancient times, our Sadhaba Puas used to sail out to foreign lands like Java, Sumatra and Bali and return with huge wealth. And it was the Kartika Purnima day when they would begin their voyage. The Kartika Purnima day was preferred because it is an auspicious day and during this time the winds were favourable for voyages in boats, locally known as ‘boita’.
To keep the memory of glorious maritime tradition alive, people across Odisha float miniature boats in water bodies on Kartika Purnima day and, the Bali Yatra at Gadagadia Ghat kick-starts on this auspicious day.
WHY IS IT CALLED BALI YATRA? 
The literal meaning of Bali Yatra is Voyage to Bali. Bali, an island in Indonesia, was one of the foreign lands where our Sadhaba Puas used to go to trade. 
There is another theory as to why the festival is called Bali Yatra. As per it, Sri Chaitanya, the great Vaishnavite Bengali poet, landed in Cuttack after crossing the sand bed of the Mahanadi River on the auspicious day of Kartika Purnima. His journey was called the Bali Yatra.