President, PM Modi & CM Naveen Patnaik Greet People Of Odisha On Nuakhai

Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted people on the occasion of Nuakhai on Thursday.

Taking to her twitter handle, President Droupadi Murmu wished peace and prosperity for everyone. She wrote “Nuakhai Juhar. On the occasion of Nuakhai, I extend my heartiest congratulations to the brothers and sisters of Odisha, especially to western Odisha. It is my sincere wish that this unique festival of love, devotion and harmony brings happiness, peace and prosperity to all.”

Similarly, Prime Minister Modi wished good health and prosperity to everyone. He wrote, “Nuakhai Juhar! Best wishes to everyone on this special day. This is an occasion to express gratitude to our hardworking farmers for their exemplary work in feeding our nation. May our society scale new heights of progress and may everyone be happy as well as healthy,” on his twitter handle.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also extended his best wishes through a video. “Jai Maa Samaleswari. Nuakhai Juhar to all of you. May Maa Samaleswari keep you all healthy. This is my only prayer before the deity,” said CM Naveen Patnaik in the video.

Internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sculpture on the occasion of Nuakhai in Puri on Thursday.

Pattnaik conveyed his best wishes to the people on this occasion and wrote “My best wishes on the occasion of Odisha’s agriculture-based Ganaparba Nuakhai. May the grace of Maa Samaleswari be upon us,” on his twitter handle.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Odisha government has declared a special local holiday for the day following Nuakhai on September 2 (Friday) for Sambalpur and Bargarh districts.

Nuakhai is an annual harvest festival in Odisha, which is known for celebrating 13 festivals in 12 months as said popularly in Odia ‘Bara Massa re Teraa Parva’. The literal meaning of Nuakhai is ‘Nua’ means New and ‘khai’ means eating.

The festival is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. It is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Nuakhai is also called ‘Nuakhai Parab’ or ‘Nuakahi Bhetghat’.

Oral tradition of this festival dates back to 12th century when it was celebrated by Chauvan Raja Ramai Deo at Patanagarh in Balangir district of Odisha.