BERHAMPUR/JEYPORE : Rangoli, traditional bonfire and cultural shows marked the beginning of the three-day Pongal festival, celebrated by the Telugu community, across southern districts including Berhampur on Sunday.
The first day of the harvest festival was celebrated as ‘Bhogi’. As Berhampur has a sizeable population of Telugu speaking people, the festival was celebrated with pomp and gaiety. Odias also joined the Telugu community in celebrating the festival.
“Sankranti Sambaraalu is a traditional harvest festival which is celebrated to enlighten the younger generation. It’s the biggest festival of Telugu people and they celebrate it across the country,” said P Satya Narayana, a local.
To celebrate ‘Sankranti Sambaraalu’, the Andhra Bhashabhivardhani Samajam (ABS) organised several programmes at Prakasham hall. Cultural programmes were held in the evening. On the occasion, popular Telugu and Kannada actor P Sai kumar was felicitated by ABS.
Besides Berhampur, the festival was also celebrated in Gopalpur, Chatrapur, Chikiti, Patrapur, Aska and Bhanjanagar in Ganjam and other southern districts including Gajapati and Rayagada.
Similarly in Koraput, the Pongal festival kicked off with much fanfare in different parts of the district. Members of Telugu community residing in Pottangi, Semiliguda, Nandapur, Padwa, Ankadeli, Jeypore, Koraput, Narayanpatana and Bandhugaon areas began the celebration with traditional ‘Bhogi’ by burning firewood.
On the day, cultural programmes were held in different areas. Telugus also made a beeline for the temples in Jeypore. As Koraput shares borders with Andhra Pradesh, a large number of Telugu people reside in the district.