BERHAMPUR: THE Telugu community in this Silk City of Odisha celebrated Pongal festival with pomp and gaiety. Colourful rangoli, traditional bonfire and cultural shows marked the three-day festival that began on Saturday in Berhampur, located close to Andhra Pradesh.
Pongal is known as the harvest festival by the Telugu community. The first day of the festival was celebrated as Bhogi on Saturday. Bhogi also marked the closing ceremony of Gobbi, a month-long ritual celebrated by the women.
The second day of the festival on Sunday is Makara Sankranti. In Berhampur, several people will also celebrate Makara Sankranti on Monday.
“Pongal is the biggest annual festival of the Telugu people who celebrate it across the country with enthusiasm and gaiety in association with others,” said T Gopi, a resident of Desibehera Street here.
Several Telugu people, including women and children, assembled near a temple at Diamond Tank Road on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the festival. Cultural functions and bonfire were the main attractions. “We perform Dandia as we believe that Lord Krishna and Radha liked this dance very much,” said a dancer.
People in different localities lit the traditional bonfire to mark the Bhogi. The Bhogi, however, was affected in several localities this time due to the shortage of firewood.
Telugu girls decorated their houses with colourful rangolis, while many of them staged cultural shows. Clad in new attire, the Telugu people of all age groups greeted one another in the town. They distributed the “pongali” __ the food prepared by the newly harvested rice, dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar and milk. While celebrating the harvest, people thank the Sun God.
“Pongal is an auspicious day for us. We invoked the forefathers of the family and offered foods to them,” said Shankar Rao, a businessman here.
On the last day, Kanuma is celebrated. But in Berhampur, this festival is celebrated by the Telugu people in a low key. Kanuma basically is a festival of farmers when the cattle and the cattle-sheds are cleaned.
Several other Telugu-dominated villages in Ganjam district, including Gopalpur, Chhatrapur, Chikiti and Patrapur celebrate Pongal with Odias. While the Telugu community is busy in their celebrations, the Odias congregate at different shrines from the early hours of the day to worship the goddess. They also arrange Bhogi, wherein sweet potatoes are burnt.
Thousands of devotees thronged Kalijai island on the picturesque Chilika lake on Sunday for Makar Sankranti.
Devotees throng Gupteswar
Jeypore: Religious fervour marked Makar Sankranti and Bhogi across Koraput district on Sunday. Hundreds of devotees from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh thronged Gupteswar, the cave temple of Koraput, and took a holy dip in Saveri river. There was a huge gathering at the temple as devotees started pouring in since early morning after the holy bath. A special ritual was conducted in the temple on the occasion of Sankranti. Saveri river is considered as ancient Patali Ganga and devotees take a holy bath on the auspicious day.
Devotees also thronged Sabar Srikhetra and offered prayer and Makar bhog. On the other hand, members of Telugu community in Jeypore, Koraput, Narayanpatana, Semiliguda, Sunabeda, Potangi and bordering areas of Andhra Pradesh celebrated Pongal on the day. Cultural events, religious discourse and literary festivals were organised by several organisations. Despite scarcity of wood, locals celebrated Bhogi in different areas of Koraput and Jeypore.
The three-day festival starts with Bhogi in which children and youths take active part. They gather logs and twigs weeks before the festival and dry them on the terrace. They make a bonfire and are joined by the entire household during the celebration. Old and discarded items are also burnt.