Berhampur: The ‘Danda Nata’, which was going on for the last 21 days across Odisha’s Ganjam district, concluded amid religious fervour on ‘Maha Bishuba Sankranti’ on Friday.
The district, which came alive with the sound of drums, cymbals and conch shells all these days, witnessed groups of people dancing barefoot on the streets undeterred by the scorching heat on the final day of the festival.
‘Danda’ as the name implies, is self-inflicted punishment, which the ‘Danduas’ undergo to pay their obeisance to Maa Kali. It is also a form of worshipping Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. The ‘Danduas’ undergo a lot of pain and hardship to appease the Goddess and they believe that the Goddesses would then fulfill their wishes. Some others do it to show their gratitude to the Goddesses for having fulfilled their wishes, pre-ordained vows or ‘Manasikas’.
The Danda Nata is performed during ‘Chaitra’ month in Odia calendar. It begins 13, 18 or 21 days before ‘Bishuba Sankranti’ and culminates on ‘Meru Sankranti’.
During the festival, the Bhoktas or Danduas took up life of hard penance for three weeks and became member of ‘Danda Nata’ troupes. They left the comfort of their homes to take up the penance in a festive mood in honour of mother goddess ‘Danda Kali’. After ‘Meru Jatra’, they returned to their respective homes.
People in large numbers gathered at Danda Kali temples in parts of the district to take part in the final rituals. In Berhampur, ‘Meru Jatra’ was celebrated at Danda Kali temples at Panigrahipentha, Diamond Tank Road, Bijipur, Ambapua and Anand Sarani.
A large number of devotees gathered in those places to have a glimpse of the final offering of the ‘Pata Bhoktas’, who lead the ‘Danda Nata’ troupes. After ritualistic bath, the ‘Pata Bhoktas’ were led to the Danda Kali temples by other ‘Danduas’. The ‘Pata Bhoktas’ were blind-folded, their bodies smeared with a special paste comprising turmeric and other herbs. They were blind-folded and hung above a pit of fire upside down as part of the rituals.
