Car festival of Koraput 1972

KORAPUT

BY: PARESH RATH

More tribal dance troupes would be invited to participate during the car festival at Koraput and for the devotees all the evenings would be ‘Bhajan Samaroho’. This was resolved by the Jagannath temple management committee which held it’s preparatory meeting held in the temple premises on Tuesday. The meeting was presided by Shri K.C.Panigrahi secretary of the committee. This year around five lakh devotees will witness this years car festival at Koraput.Known as Sabara Srikshetra, the modern Jagannath Temple of Koraput has geared up to celebrate the state’s famous car festival of Lord Jagannath in the tribal way. An elaborate arrangement has been made by the temple committee to make the festival a memorable. In the preparatory meeting it was resolved to invite more tribal dance troupes during the yatra and arrangements of cultural programmes are also made during the festival. This year volunteers would be issued identity cards. More lighting in the area also is planned to give the festive a better look. The Koraput Jagannath temple that was established about three decades ago has been witnessing a large number of crowds from far and near to visit the temple on a pilgrimage tour and during Ratha Yatra. Foreign tourists visit to witness the way the festival celebrated by the bare primitive tribes of the area. Every year the tribal troupes from Koya, Bonda, Gadava, Paraja, perform their traditional dance while the car is pulled during the festival and ‘Bhauda’ ;the return of the car which is on the 16th of July. What will be special this year is that the devotees will get a chance to see the lords in ‘Tribidha Avataar’ This comprises of ‘Durga Madhava Besha’ on the 17th where Jagannath will be dressed as Lord Vishnu, Balabhadra as Lord Shiva and Devi Subhadra as Goddess Bana Durga. This Besha signifies Shakti- the power of Lord Shiva, and Peace of lord Vishnu. Devotees can see the lords on ‘Suna Besha’ on the 18th and ‘Raja besha’ on the 19th as after the Bahuda yatra the date is coinciding with the “Ekadasi” and on this day the lord cannot alight from the car to enter into the “Neeladri Vihar”. At Koraput the sweeping of the car called ‘Chhera Pahanra’ is done by a tribal devotee which at Puri in Orissa is performed by Gajapati Maharajah. Tribal heads are honored on the car by tying them a headgear .As a traditional ritual the temple authorities have sent betel nuts to the village heads as a symbolic invitation for participation of villagers in the festival. Among others present in the preparatory meeting were Koraput S.P.Mr.Arun Bothra , ADM MR.Eswar Chandra Barda and members of the temple committee.