Thakurani Yatra Kick-Starts In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: The biennial festival of Buddhi Thakurani, popularly known as ‘Thakurani Yatra’, kick-started in Odisha’s silk city of Berhampur. During the Yatra, the Goddess visits her father.

The Yatra celebrated by the people here with much pomp and gaiety would continue till May 1. The clan priest has also fixed these 28 days as auspicious for the Yatra.

The festival started on Tuesday night with thousands of devotes led by Patala Durga Prasad Desi Behera and his family members marching towards the Buddhi Thakurani temple, considered as her in-laws place, in the night to invite the goddess to come with them for parental home at Desi Behera Sahi.

The procession reached the main temple at around midnight to seek her permission. After the arrival of the floral sign of the deity (Aagyamala) at 1-30 in the night, the presiding deity of the town left for the temporary temple at the Desi Behera Sahi and reached her father’s house at around 3 am. With the arrival of their daughter, the two-year long wait was over, said Desi Behera.

The invitation to the Goddesses was offered in the form of offering ‘Etamalliphula’, a bunch of flower, which falls from the head of the Goddess, kept in the temporary thatched house for worship symbolizing “Buddhi Thakurani’. During the entire Thakurani Yatra religious procession would be taken out in different selected streets of the town from third day onwards and the devotees mainly ladies participate in this procession.

It is a tradition during Yatra that devotees go for enacting as Krishna, Balaram, Radha, Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Siva, Parvati, Durga, Kachara, Gajia, Jilapi (another incarnation of Lord Krushna), Dahani (witch), demons and many others for fulfilling their desired ends. Most children below 5 years are also dressed up. They go around the city on foot, bikes, bicycles or rickshaws. The main attraction is in a tiger costume or ‘Bagha Nata’.

Lakhs of people from different parts of the state and even outside Odisha congregate here to witness the Thakurani Yatra, sources said.

It may be recalled that preparations for the festival commenced at the Desi Behera Sahi after the Subha Khunti (auspicious post) was installed on March 17 midnight. ‘Subhakhunti’ or an auspicious 7-feet long bamboo pillar has already been fixed in front of the residence of Desi Behera as the first step for constructing a temporary thatched house for the deities.

Notably, the Thakurani yatra was recognised as the sixth state festival by the government. The other five state festivals are Dhanu yatra in Bargarh, Parab in Koraput, Mukteswar and Rajarani in Bhubaneswar and Konark festival.