SAMBALPUR: The craze of ‘Bahubali 2: The Conclusion’ has reached the Western Odisha town of Sambalpur. The fantasy-fiction has caught the imagination of artisans making tableaus for Sital Sasthi carnival.
The artisans said popular Bahubali characters are being recreated by using clay, bamboo, straw, gunny bags, rope, iron wire, paper, thermocol and colours. The carnival is a major attraction of the festival, better known as the homecoming procession of divine couple Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. They return to their respective temples after the divine marriage, which is scheduled on May 29. The carnival will begin on May 30 night and continue till May 31 afternoon.
As many as 5,500 artistes from across the county will participate in the carnivals of Jharuapada, Nandapada and Mudipada Sital Sasthi Yatra committees while lakhs of visitors from across the State besides neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand will witness it.
Brothers Satish (26) and Santosh Pandit (23) of Malipada, who are making tableaus of Nandapada Yatra Committee, said they gave the idea of recreating the scene where the protagonist from Bahubali 2 stands atop an elephant with one foot on the tusker’s trunk and the other on its head. The committee readily accepted. The tableau will be major attraction of the carnival, they added. The brothers are also concentrating on a natural calamity. They are designing a submerged statue of Lord Shiva at Rishikesh after the Uttarakhand floods, flying horse along with an angel, a tiger sitting atop an elephant and a gorilla to promote conservation of endangered species.
Similarly, Mudipada Yatra Committee is making a tableau on Bahubali along with Kattapa, who is another important character of the blockbuster. This apart, tableaus on Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Amar Jawan and Save Girls will also be displayed by the committee. On the other hand, Jharuapada Yatra Committee is making a tableau on one of the scenes from Bahubali besides a 25 feet flying Hanuman, Vasudev and Krishna, Chhota Bheem and India Gate. Apart from the three prominent committees, Badabazaar and Thakurpada Yatra committees too will display tableau on Bahubali during the homecoming procession of the divine couple.