Saturday, January 15, 2011

Samba Dashamee

"SAMBA DASHAMEE" It is a festival unique to Odisha and is celebrated on 10th day of the Sukla Paksha of Pausha Masa. Legends say that Samba, the son of Lord Krishna, was afflicted by leprosy and he was cured by Surya, the Sun God, after 12 years of penance near Konark. So on this day, all mothers pray to Sun God to keep their kids he...althy.. On this day, female folks of thefamily wake up early in the morning before sun rise. After bath,they prepare variety of food items like, Khichdi, Udiya Puli,Ghadghadia Tarkari (a curry item) and offer them to Sun God during sun rise. One of the specific characters of this ritual is variety of individual food item is offered to Sun God in the name of each member of the family,After that female folks of the families go on preparing variety of Pitha (Cake) like; Manda Pitha, Kakara Pitha, Arisha Pitha, BiriLaddoo and other items like MakarChaula, Chhenaguda, Dhanu Muaan, sweet dishes like Khiri,Rasagola, Jhilli, Chhenagaja, Sweet Curd etc. all over the day. In the noon time, a bowl of turmericwater with a beetle in it is taken to ‘chaunra mula’ (a small temple likes tructure with a Tulsi plant overhead). All the cooked foods are served in plates. Then female heads of the family see the face of Sun God through the bowl of turmeric water and offer all the cuisine to the God. They readthe legend of ‘Samba Dasami Brata Katha’ and pray for the well-being of the whole family members.In the late night or evening, anotherpuja is observed as a part of SambaDasami ritual. This is known as‘ Mahakala Puja’. Special Budha Chakuli is offered to Yama.
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Kalupada Seka : Bone Healing Treatment

Bone Healing Treatment
The treatment is locally known as Kalupada Ghat Seka Chikitsa based upon the name of the village Kalupada under Chilika Block in Khordha District. Where a family of ayurveds give this treatment. It is a family occupation and they don't divulge their modality. First the place of the fracture is covered with a poultice of a certain herbal mixture and over this heat is applied in the form of a heated iron rod. The patient does not feel the heat. The treatment is very popular here and even the railways have made a special stoppage at that place for the convenience of patients. In the process of fracture healing, several phases of recovery facilitate the proliferation and protection of the areas surrounding fractures and dislocations. The length of the process depends on the extent of the injury, and usual margins of two to three weeks are given for the reparation of most upper bodily fractures; anywhere above four weeks given for lower bodily injury. The process of the entire regeneration of the bone can depend on the angle of dislocation or fracture. While the bone formation usually spans the entire duration of the healing process, in some instances, bone marrow within the fracture has healed two or fewer weeks before the final remodeling phase. While immobilization and surgery may facilitate healing, a fracture ultimately heals through physiological processes. The healing process is mainly determined by the periosteum (the connective tissue membrane covering the bone). The periosteum is one source of precursor cells which develop into chondroblasts and osteoblasts that are essential to the healing of bone. The bone marrow (when present), endosteum, small blood vessels, and fibroblasts are other sources of precursor cells.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Hot Sulpher Spring : Atri

Atri is situated in the village of Baghamari. Atri has a sulfur hot-Spring, locally called the 'Kua Kunda' - Crow's Tank. Atri also has a famous temple dedicated to Lord Hatakeswara. Baghmari is located at co-ordinates 20°13′14″N 85°30′05″E / 20.22056°N 85.50139°E / 20.22056; 85.50139. The Kenduli River, which is a tributary of the Mahanadi, flows through the Western-Northern flank of the village and almost outline the extent of the village in these directions. The main locality the village is surrounded on all sides by green paddy fields. On the south-eastern boundary of the village, there is the famous hot-spring of Atri. The Atri hot-spring is a typical sulphur spring. There are now more than 25 baths and 2 pools in a lush green setting. This hot-spring acts as a big tourist attraction of the region. Located in the western part of the district of Khurda in the Indian state of Odisha. The population is more than 20,000. The meaning of the name of this village is 'Killing the Tigers'. In times prior to Independence of India (1947), the area was deeply forested and populated with wild animals. The first mention of this village in chronicled history appears in the Madala Panji entries recorded during the reign of Gajapati Shri Mukunda Deva Maharaj, the last of the Gajapatis of State of Odisha and Khurda King Raja Ramachandra Dev-I. This Gajapati Mukunda Deva's summer residence was transferred to the village Baghamari during the heights of Paika Rebellion (Mutiny of the Peasant Warriors) of 1817 A.D. Baghamari remained the main centre of strategic resistance for a short time during that period. Baghamari was one out of the 74 'Gadas' (military strongholds) in the Khurda area at the command of the then Gajapati King of Khurda during the Paika Rebellion. Thereafter, the village appears in military history of Orissa as chronicled by the war records-keeper Shri Brajanath BadaJena. The famous temple of Hatakeswara is situated near-by and the popular folklore is the said hotspring is the hot breath of Lord Siva Hatakeswar, where Sivaratri and Makar Sankranti festivals are the auspicious functions organized and are attended by a large number of people. The Makar Sankranti festival lasts for about a fortnight where a big market works with great sales. Even if in this modern age you can find different conventional household aricles are being gathered for sale.

Makara Sankranti

In Odisha People prepare 'makar chaula' (uncooked) newly harvested rice, banana, coconut, jaggery, sesame, rasagola, khoi and chhena puddings for naivedya to gods and goddesses.The withdrawing winter entails change in food habits & intake of nourishing and rich food. Therefore this festival also holds immense scientific significance. According to the Sun's movement, the days from this day onwards become lengthy and warmer and so the Sun-God is worshipped as a great benefactor. Makar Mela is observed at Dhabaleswar in Cuttack, Kalijai Pitha in Chilika lake, Hatakeshwar at Atri in Puri, Makar Muni temple in Balasore and near various deities in each district of Odisha. In the temple of Lord Jagannath this festival is observed as 'Uttarayana Yatra'. In Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar,kalahandi, koraput and Sundargarh where the tribal population is more, the festival is celebrated with great joy. They have been celebrating this festival with great enthusiasm. They sing, dance and enjoy. Many tribals in our country start their New Year from the day of Sankranti by lighting bonfires, dancing and eating their particular dishes sitting together. The Bhuya tribals of Odisha have their Maghyatra in which small home-made articles are put for sale.

Folk Art of Odisha


JHOTI-CHITA
MURUJA

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Heritage Crafts Village : Raghurajpur

Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Puri district, Odisha known for its master Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. in the region and Gotipua dance troupes, the precursor to the Indian Classical dance form of Odissi it also known as the birthplace of one of finest Odissi exponents and Guru, Kelu Charan Mohapatra. Apart from that the village is also home to crafts like Tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone and wood carvings, wooden, cowdung and papier mache toys, and masks.In 2000, after a two-year research and documentation project by INTACH, starting 1998, the village was chosen to be developed as state's first heritage village and developed as a Crafts village, soon the village had an interpretation centre, commissioned artwork on the walls of the artists’ homes and a rest house. It also has the distinction of the only place where the traditional decoration called Patas, used under the throne of Lord Jagannath and on the three chariots during the annual Ratha Yatra festival, that takes place at pilgrimage town of Puri, some 14 km away, known for the Jagannath Temple.

Fakir Mohana : Chha-Mana-Aatha-Guntha

Fakir Mohan Senapati (ଫକିର େମାହନ େସନାପତି) born on January 13, 1843, at Mallikashpur in Balasore, played a leading role in establishing the distinct identity of Odia, a language mainly spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. Fakirmohan Senapati is regarded as the father of Odia nationalism and the morden Odia literaure. Born to father, Laxman Charan Senapati and mother Tulsi Devi Senapatie, Fakirmohan dedicated his life for the progress of Odia language in the later 19th and early 20th century. The story of Fakirmohan is indeed the story of the 'Renaissance' of Odia literature. Besides he was a social reformer and educator who used his pen to criticize and correct the aberrations prevalent in the society. He is called the father of Odia fiction. Fakir Mohan Senapati’s novel “Chha Mana Atha Guntha” (Six Acres and a Third) sets in colonial Indian society during the early decades of the19th century . It tells a tale of wealth and greed, of property and theft. On one level it is the story of an evil landlord, Ramachandra Mangaraj, who exploits poor peasants and uses the new legal system to appropriate the property of others. But this is merely one of the themes of the novel; as the text unfolds, it reveals several layers of meaning and implication. Toward the end of Mangaraj's story, he is punished by the law and we hear how the "Judge Sahib" ordered that his landed estate, his "zamindari," be taken away. It is sold to a lawyer, who as rumor in the village has it "will come with ten palanquins followed by five horses and two hundred foot-soldiers" to take possession of Mangaraj's large estate. The ordinary villagers react to this news by reminding one another of an old saying: "O horse, what difference does it make to you if you are stolen by a thief? You do not get much to eat here; you will not get much to eat there. No matter who becomes the next master, we will remain his slaves. We must look after our own interests." Fakir Mohan Senapati's novel is written from the perspective of the horse, the ordinary villager, and the foot-soldier — in other words, the labouring poor of the world. Although it contains a critique of British colonial rule, the novel offers a powerful indictment of many other forms of social and political authority as well. What makes Six Acres unusual is that its critical vision is embodied in its narrative style or mode, in the complex way the novel is narrated and organized as a literary text. Senapati's novel (the Odia original was serialized in 1897-1899 and published as a book in 1902) is justly seen as representing the apex of the tradition of literary realism in 19th century Indian literature. But its realism is complex and sophisticated, not simply mimetic; the novel seeks to analyze and explain social reality instead of merely holding up a mirror to it. The linguistic innovations of Six Acres and a Third, Senapati's first novel, need to be appreciated in this wider context. These innovations changed Odia literature forever, and inaugurated the age of modern Odia prose, but they are based in a vision of social equality and cultural self-determination. Senapati was no romantic nationalist, and his conception of language was based on his progressive social vision. In his prose works, he sought to popularize an egalitarian literary medium that was sensitive enough to draw on the rich idioms of ordinary Odias, the language of the paddy fields and the village markets. If he saw the imposition of other languages like Persian, English, or Bengali on Odias as a form of linguistic colonialism, it is because he considered the interests of Odias much like the interests of any linguistic community to be tied to democratic cultural and social access to power.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

History of Sun Temple : Konark

LEGEND. The legend says that King Narasimha Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty had ordered the temple to be built as a royal proclamation of the political supremacy of his dynasty. A workforce of 12 hundred artisans and architects invested their creative talent, energy and artistic commitment for an exhausting period of 12 years. The king had already spent an amount equivalent to the state’s revenue receipts of 12 years. However, the completion of the construction was nowhere in sight. Then the king issued a final command that the work be completed by a stipulated date. The team of architects headed by Bisu Maharana was at their wit’s end. It was then that Dharmapada, the 12 year old son of the chief architect Bisu Maharana, arrived there as a visiting onlooker. He became aware of the anxiety looming large among the architects. Although he did not have any practical experience of temple construction, he was thorough in his study of the theories of temple architecture. He offered to solve the confounding problem of fixing the last copping stone at the top of the temple. He surprised everyone by doing that himself. But soon after this achievement the dead body of this adolescent prodigy was found on the sea beach at the foot of the temple. Legend says that Dharmapada laid down his life to save his community. The temple was dedicated to the Sun-God(Arka) popularly called Biranchi-Narayan, and the tract in which it is situated was known as Arka-Kshetra as well as padma-kshetra...

Monday, January 3, 2011