The Panchu Dola festival in Harirajpur village here is unique. The annual event starts five to 10 days after Holi and continues for a month and is called Harirajpur Melan.
The Melan was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in presence of local MLA Pradeep Maharathi and thousands of devotees on Monday. During the festivities, deities from different villages are brought in colourful processions to a place and kept in an open ground for some days.
The congregation of deities called Panchu Dola continues amidst blowing of conches and performance of various rituals. One such ritual is invitation extended by host deity to other deities with offerings of ‘bhoga’ and ‘Hari-Har Bheta’.
The devotees participate in celebration of spring by applying colours to the deities as well as among themselves. Huge quantity of ‘abir’ (coloured powder) are exchanged during ‘kirtan’. In the night, fireworks attract thousands.
During the month-long melan, exchange and transaction of stationery items to cattle, wooden utensils to stone works is carried out. Operas are performed for days together.
People cutting across caste, creed and community come together in front of the deities to exchange ‘abir’ and chandan (sandal paste) as a mark of bonhomie and camaraderie. The melan dates back to 17th century.