Season of melas

The winter months are packed with religious and cultural festivals and fairs in Orissa.

COME winter (November-February), and Orissa, the land of gaiety, gears up in a big way to attract tourists from all over the world. The magnificent Rath Yatra of the Puri Jagannath temple, which takes place in the lunar month of Ashada in June-July, is followed by the Dasara and Deepavali festivals. And the season of celebration begins in right earnest. There is an old saying that the people of Orissa celebrate 13 traditional festivals in 12 months.

Orissa is a melting pot of religious and cultural traditions. To showcase this diversity, the State government and various cultural groups organise several events.

The classical dance Odissi is the highlight of the Konark dance festival, which is attended by cultural troupes from other parts of the country, too. A fortnight after Diwali in October-November, which coincides with Kali Puja, a major religious event after Durga Puja, religious tourists from across the State take part in the Boita Bandana Utsav, also known as the Kalinga Bali Yatra in the coastal districts, on Kartik Purnima day, the full moon day in the lunar month of Kartik in November/December. Miniature boats in different sizes and colours are set afloat in the sea, rivers or other water bodies as part of the celebrations. The festival commemorates the rich maritime heritage of the sadhavas (traders) from the coastal State, who had sailed to Bali, Java and Sumatra (now in the Indonesian archipelago) to establish business ties.

Coinciding with the Boita Bandana Utsav is the Bali Yatra fairs in the millennium city of Cuttack and the port town of Paradip. Lakhs of people attend these annual fairs. Hundreds of stalls selling a variety of goods and cultural shows in the evenings are the major attraction of the yatra. Bali Yatra is followed by the Puri Beach Festival between November 23 and 27. The coastal city of Puri is a major tourist attraction all through the year, but the beach festival draws bigger crowds. The Departments of Tourism and Culture and associations of hotel owners and tour operators have joined hands to make this cultural event, which includes beach parties, rock concerts and dance shows, a success.

This event is followed by the Konark Dance Festival at Konark, 30 kilometres from the pilgrim city of Puri. The majestic 13th century Konark Sun temple on the Chandrabhaga beach provides the backdrop for this festival of classical dances in which dancers and dance troupes from different parts of the country participate. The annual festival held in an open-air auditorium between December 1 and 5 attracts a large number of tourists and dance lovers from outside the country. This festival is billed as the country's second biggest dance event after the Khajuraho Festival organised by the Madhya Pradesh government.

Another major event in December is the Toshali National Crafts Mela in Bhubaneswar, which showcases the arts and crafts of the country. A visit to the fair between December 15 and 27 will give the tourist an opportunity to see the artisans at work in their respective stalls.

As the winter chill continues to grip Orissa, the temple city of Bhubaneswar becomes the venue for three major festivals the Kalinga Mahotsav, a national festival of martial arts on the foothills of the Dhauli peace pagoda on January 10 and 11; the Mukteswar Dance Festival, a festival of Odissi dance at the Mukteswar temple complex from January 14 to 16; and the Rajarani Music Festival from January 18 to 20.

The State-run Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre in Bhubaneswar also organises a national Odissi dance and music festival. Started a few years ago, the festival has become an important event for Odissi dancers across the country.

The Gopalpur Beach Festival at Gopalpur-on-Sea in December; the Lok Utsav, the lone annual festival of folk arts in the western Orissa town of Sambalpur in the first week of January; and the Chandipur Beach festival are some other major tourist attractions during the winter months.

Similarly, the annual festivals hosted by the District Councils of Culture have added another dimension to Orissa's cultural calendar. Parab in Koraput district, Mondei in Nabarangpur and Malyabanta in Malkangiri are some of the enchanting extravaganzas. The Vedavyas Festival held in the steel city of Rourkela in November is an important addition to the list of cultural fairs.

The Adivasi Mela, an annual seven-day tribal festival, is held in Bhubaneswar starting January 26. People representing 62 tribes put up their stalls on the lush green exhibition ground, popularly known as Adivasi Padia. Apart from the exhibits, which range from tribal cuisine to art, the mela provides a platform for tribal dance and music. Many fairs are organised starting from Makar Sankranti in mid-January in different parts of the State.

MUCH TO OFFER

Religious festivals such as Laxmi Puja in Dhenkanal and Kendrapara districts, Kali Puja in Bhadrak and Jajpur districts, and the world-famous Dhanu Yatra in Bargarh district attract a large number of tourists. Dhanu Yatra, which is held in what is considered the largest open-air theatre, presents the story of Krishna. The cast mainly comprises local people. The huge potential of the festival, however, has not been exploited.

A number of organisations in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, such as Srjan (Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra annual festival of dance and music), the Orissa Dance Academy (Dhauli Festival of Arts) and the Bhubaneswar Music Circle (an annual National Music Festival and the Kharavela National Festival on the foothills of Khandagiri-Udayagiri hosted by the K.N. Memorial Foundation) hold cultural events. The Gunjan Dance Academy also organises a series of dance and music festivals.

The Konark Dance and Music Festival, which was started by the veteran Odissi exponent Gangadhar Pradhan at the Natya Mandap of the sun temple in 1986, remains a major cultural event. It is held in February.

The number of cultural festivals has increased in recent years with many private organisations and big companies coming together to organise them. The growing interest of corporate houses in sponsoring cultural events is, however, facing criticism from many artists who are reluctant to accept the patronage of companies that are facing opposition from the people in the interior areas of the State.

Going by the number of festivals and fairs, it is clear that Orissa has much to offer. But the potential for tourism has not been marketed adequately in India and abroad.

Despite making frequent announcements that it plans to introduce a new policy to give a boost to the tourism industry, the State government has done nothing in this direction. As a result, the sector seems to be growing without much government support. Hotels have started coming up in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Paradip. But many big hotel projects are still awaiting implementation.

The sun temple, the second important tourist hub of the State, still lacks proper tourist accommodation. Poor infrastructure continues to make Konark a day-time tourist spot. The Chilika lake, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, has huge tourism potential but again lacks infrastructure. The government has been focussing its energies on the capital city, Bhubaneswar. The authorities are hopeful that the tourism industry will overcome these handicaps. The Department of Tourism and Culture is going ahead with plans to organise more festivals. One such is the Chilika Mahotsav, which will be held from 2011.

There is no denying the fact that Orissa has been witnessing some development in the fields of industry and education. The State has a large number of institutions imparting technical and professional education. But tourist footfalls have been fewer, mainly owing to a lack of road/rail/air connectivity to a number of pilgrim centres and cultural hubs in the interior parts. It is time the State government developed tourist infrastructure in the interior districts.