COVID-19 Shadow On Budhi Thakurani Festival In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: The duration of ‘Thakurani Yatra’, one of the biggest festivals of southern Odisha, has been shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic this year.

It was decided at a meeting of senior officers of the district administration with P Durga Prasad Desibehera, the traditional head of the festival at the office of the Commissioner, Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) on Wednesday.

Though the administration allowed the biennial yatra of Buddhi Thakurani to be held, it stated that the festival should be celebrated for a limited days. COVID-19 regulations would be strictly observed during the traditional ‘Ghata Parikrama’. There would be no distribution of ‘Prasad’ during the yatra, sources said.

There would be another round of meeting to finalise the detailed modalities of COVID-19 regulations during the yatra. The ‘Purohit’ would fix some auspicious days for ‘Subhakhunti Sthapan’ after studying the almanac on ‘Siva Ratri’ day. The span of the festival days would be decided in the joint meeting subsequently, Desibehera said.

The last biennial festival of Buddhi Thakurani was observed for 32 days in 2019 from March 29.

The biennial Thakurani Yatra is celebrated to mark the visit of Goddess Budhi Thakurani to Her father’s house at Desibehera Street. The Goddess is considered as the daughter of the Desi Behera and the deity stays with her father’s family during the entire Yatra period.

During the yatra, the city is flooded with people who move around in the attire of mythological characters including Krishna, Balaram, Radha, Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Siva, Parvati, Durga. Over the years, some people also dress as social and folk dance characters like ‘Pila Khai Dahani’ (baby-eating sorceress), police, doctor and political leaders while visiting the temporary abode of the Goddess. The traditional ‘Bagha Nacha’ or tiger dance has also become the main attraction during the yatra.

Thakurani Yatra was recognised as the sixth state festival by the Department of Tourism and Culture in 2014. The other festivals recognised by the department include ‘Dhanu Yatra’ in Bargarh, ‘Parab’ in Koraput, ‘Mukteswar’ and ‘Rajarani’ in Bhubaneswar and ‘Konark Festival’ in Konark.

According to historians, the cult of Buddhi Thakurani originated along with the emergence of Berhampur town around 1672 AD. Telugu Lengayat Dera (weaver) community, who came to Mahuri on the invitation of the king to take up their profession of weaving, started their ‘Ghata Yatra’ (Pot Festival) for highlighting the divinity of Mahamayee Thakurani of his capital town Berhampur.