OB Special

Eighty-two years old now and his memory of the first visit to Bali Jatra is a bit hazy. "It was around 1957," says Ramaballav Mishra, now a resident of Bhubaneswar....

What makes a fair special? It has to be the fascinating mix of smells, sounds and sights. It was true half a century ago; it holds true now  "The first...

Food is what attracted many to Bali Jatra. The range of eatables was wide. "Dahibara and aloo dum sold the most. Thunkapuri was in great demand too. No trip was...

"Nothing would stop our trips to the Jatra. A bunch of youngsters would set off on cycles from our hostel in Ravenshaw college in the evening and move inside the...

Boita Bandana celebrations in Canada were full of the rich culture of Odisha and a night to remember for everyone. The festivities were organised by the Orissa Society of Canada...

The mention of Bali Jatra stirs fond memories in Geeta Satpathy, 59. She was around seven when she first visited the jatra and she still remembers the excitement at the...

Communal memory is more powerful than history. Our ancient maritime glory lives on in collective memory through the celebration of Bali Jatra. It may have been reduced to rituals to some...

Egyptian mythology offers strong hints of maritime links with ancient Odisha. The land it mentions as Put or Punt was most probably Puri, according to a research work. The holy...

In Sonepur, the land of Shakti worship, Bali Jatra assumes a different meaning altogether. According to tradition, the festival began during Raja Madan Gopal Singhdeo, the first Chauhan king of Sonepur, who...

Bhubaneswar: Bali Jatra is like an ode to Odisha’s maritime history, when traders from Kalinga (Odisha was a part of Emperor Ashoka’s empire) established trade links with Bali, Indonesia. Somehow,...