Sambalpur: This Year’s Shital Sasthi Yatra to Feature 7,000 Artists; Foreign Folk Artists will be Involved; Budget Increased

Sambalpur: Preparations began last month for Sambalpur’s world-famous Shital Sasthi Yatra, which will commence on the 6th of next month. The Shital Sasthi Yatra has been organized in Sambalpur on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of the Jyestha month for 400 years. However, this religious mega-event has not yet received the recognition it deserves from the state government, and the administration’s support is gradually declining, alleged the Joint Action Committee formed with the oldest Nandapada, Jhaduapada, and Mudipada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committees.

At a press conference held today for this year’s Shital Sasthi Yatra, the committee stated that the Shital Sasthi festival in Sambalpur is considered the second-largest religious mega-event in the state after the Puri Rath Yatra. The festival attracts 5 lakh devotees every year and cultural gatherings from various parts of the country. However, the state government has not made adequate efforts to preserve this religious and cultural tradition. The government grant for this religious and cultural event is like offering a conch to the ocean and is not even received every year. The committee demanded that the state government make separate provisions in the budget for this ancient mega-event, similar to the Rath Yatra, to preserve it. Despite requesting the administration for this religious procession, the Collector and SP were absent from the meeting on the 30th. The administration has not called a coordination meeting yet, the committee said. Nandapada Yatra Committee President Fanibhushan Mishra said that last year, a silver canopy (Medha) weighing one and a half quintals was offered to Baba Balunkeshwar. This year it will be presented differently. The main procession will feature endangered folk-cultural troupes, folk dance troupes from various states of the country, and for the first time, a folk dance troupe from Thailand.

Giving prominence to Sambalpuri folk art and dance, Dulduli, Kalingi dance, Samprada, Danda dance, Shabar dance (male and female), Aghori dance, Nasikar Dhol, Kalasa dance, Kerala’s Baja with horse dance, Ghanta troupe, Andhra Pradesh’s Parva dance, Purulia’s Chhau dance, Vijayawada’s Bagh dance, etc., will be part of the main procession. This year, folk dances from Thailand and Kerala’s Baja and horse dance will be the main attractions. Kolkata, Mumbai, Assam, Raipur, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar dance troupes will participate in modern dance. 2500 to 3000 artists will showcase their artistic skills in the Yugal Darshan main procession. The Prajnapan Medha will feature Kumpu Panda, Ayodhya’s Ramlala, the world’s tallest Vishnu and Garuda idols, Prahlad and Narsimha, Shri Krishna’s Navagunjara attire, and Nandi Maharaj. Mr. Mishra informed that the expenditure for the festival is estimated to be 40 to 50 lakh rupees.

Jhaduapada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committee President Saroj Dalpat said that this year’s expenditure is estimated to be 42 to 45 lakh rupees. The main procession will focus on folk art and culture, involving 2200 artists. The folk art and culture troupe will include Dulduli, Samprada, tribal dance, Kalasa dance, Punjabi Dhol, tiger and mask dance, Ardhanarishwara and Mahakali dance, Karma dance, Dhamal band, bell, conch, Kandei dance, Badghoda, and tiger dance troupes. Modern dance will feature Kolkata, Assam, Bhojpuri, Mahasamund, and Jagannath Bhakti dance troupes. This year’s main attractions will be Bhopal’s Baba Bateshwar Kirtan and Telangana’s Gusadi dance troupe. The Prajnapan Medha will include Hanuman and Ramlala in the procession, said Mr. Dalpat.

Mudipada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committee President Jagadish Panda said that this year’s expenditure is estimated to be 35 to 40 lakh rupees. The main attraction of the main procession will be the traditional folk dance troupe from Sri Lanka. Duduli, women’s Karma troupe, Samprada, tribal dance, bell troupe, drum music, Dhamal band, Aghori dance, etc., will be part of it. Modern dance will feature Sambalpuri dance from Kolkata, Gwalior, Kanpur, Bilaspur, Dhenkanal, and Bhubaneswar dance troupes in the procession. The Prajnapan Medha will have a dinosaur, Shivaji Maharaj, and avatars. For Yugal Darshan in the main procession, Ram and Sita will give darshan to the devotees riding on the Sarpagruha Singhasan, Hanuman Rath Locket Dhoom, and Ram-Sita’s Rath Shankha Singhasan Dhoom. More than 2500 artists will participate in the procession, said Mr. Panda.

On the 10th, at the auspicious Brahma Muhurta, Mahadev and mother goddess Parvati will have their Haatganthi (wedding ritual) and marriage. On the night of the 11th, the divine couple will give darshan to the devotees in the Yugal Darshan procession, and on the 12th, after the city tour, they will enter the temple, it was informed at the press conference. Joint Action Committee President Sunil Kumar Das, Executive President Amulya Mishra, Nandapada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committee President Mr. Mishra, Jhaduapada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committee President Mr. Dalpat, and Mudipada Shital Sasthi Yatra Committee President Mr. Panda were present on the dais. Abhishek Mishra conducted the program.