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Having celebrated a host of religious festivals, the pious land of Puri celebrates the Chandan Yatra, a festival that marks the conclusion of the cycle of religious festivals. Starting from Akshyaya Trutiya the festival lasts for twenty-one days. The name of the festival is very symbolic as sandal paste popularly known as chandan and water are its inseparable constituents. That is why the festival is held in the month of Baisakh, a time when the summer heat is at its peak and sandal paste and water are essential to keep the people cool.
Similar to human beings, the Hindu deities, who are modeled on human behavior pattern only, are also treated the same way. During the Chandan Yatra, they are taken out of the temples in procession for a holy patrol in water on floats or boats. It is because of the belief that all the ceremonies of the land must be culminated with an aquatic sojourn for a deity. The floats or boats of the deities are very richly decorated and are called 'Chapa'. In most of the Vishnu and Shiva temples, the 'float' festival marks the conclusion of the prime annual festival and is therefore celebrated with a great pomp and show.
Thousands of pilgrims flock the land of Lord Jagannath for this festival. During the festival, the road from the Lord's shrine till Narendra Sarobar (a sacred tank in Puri town) is decorated very beautifully. Arches or big torans are erected in front of monasteries and at cross-roads, as the idols take casual rest here and receive offerings.
Devotees take decorated representative images of Lord Jagannath, Laxmi and Saraswati to the Narendra Sarobar at night in richly decorated palanquins. They are accompanied by priests, musicians and dancers. A number of devotees wait for the arrival of the Lord. Upon arrival, the idols are placed on the decorated boats. These boats are rowed then for a long time by the sevakas. Temple dancers dance and sing on the boat during the rowing.
The boats are generally red and white in color and are so designed that they resemble huge swans floating on water. The most peculiar thing about this ceremony is that Madanmohana with Laxmi and Saraswati rides on the white colored raft where-as Ramakrishna with pancha Shivas rides the red one. The deities continue taking boat rides till early morning and then retire to their respective shrines. This procedure is followed during the entire festival. Bhaunri is the last day of the festival. Special arrangements are made for this.
This tradition is followed in some other parts of the state as well. Images of gods are taken out in procession on palanquins to the nearby tanks and perambulated in water on boats. After the ceremony which usually takes place at mid-night, people enjoy performances of dance, drama and music specially arranged for this occasion. But in all the temples outside Puri, this fest is observed only for the last three days.
At Bhubaneswar, the Chandan Yatra belongs to Lord Lingaraj and is observed in Bindu Sarobar, a huge tank near the temple. The float here is moved to the Mandapa- an inlet-like structure which is more an elevated platform; in the middle of the tank.
Fairs & Festivals in Odisha (Orissa) - With numerous religions, ancient temples, local shrines, tribes and an array of sacred places, Odisha (Orissa) observes uncountable number of festivals and fairs round the year. Major Odisha(Orissa) Festivals of Odisha is Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra and Durga Pooja. Three different religions flourished on the holy land of Odisha (Orissa) thus making it mandatory to celebrate various religious Odisha festivals with great fanfare. Odisha Cultural & Religious Festivals are very famous in india.
A land of varied cultures and traditions, Odisha (Orissa) automatically serves to be a land of festivals. Religion or folklores, tradition or agriculture and seasonal variations or ethnic dance forms; all serve to be a setting for the celebration. Odisha (Orissa) celebrates one or other festival every month giving an opportunity to the visitors and natives both to enjoy and have real fun.
With some of the special rituals attached to each, these festivals add bright colors to the landscape of Odisha (Orissa)'s cultural heritage. Some of the festivals of this land of Lord Jagannath are dedicated to His holy self. Some other festivals celebrated in Odisha (Orissa) find a close resemblance to a lot of festivals of North India; however they are called by different names and are even celebrated in a different fashion. But amazingly, every festivity centers around the prayer sacraments to seek the blessings of gods, exchanging goodwill, distributing sweets, decorating houses, wearing new clothes, music, dance and feasting. Whatever is the way, each festival really makes the country come alive throughout the year.
Apart from popular festivals in Odisha, these are many other regional festivals and tribal festivals are celebrated by Odia people at different regions, as example in Sambalpur (a district of Odisha) NuaKhai parab is very popular, and many other festivals are celebrated at different villages of Odisha. Tourist most of the time demand to include festivals tour in their tour packages, so Odisha Tourism created special Odisha Festivals Tour Packages for tourist.
